Shy Teacher
by prevalentresource
Summary: AU. OOC. Somewhat of a Crack-fic. Byleth is considered a ruthless mercenary by his peers. He who kills without remorse. But... he's just doing it to protect those he cares about. Turns out, he's pretty shy! Features lots of fluffy moments between M!Byleth and the female cast. Chapter 9, up! Sorry for lateness!
1. Edelgard

**Shy Teacher**

**AU. Crack-fic. Very OOC for some characters. Contains a lot of cliches. Extremely fluffy. Byleth-centric.**

**Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life**

**Sub-Genres: Parody**

**Played the game in Japanese, students will refer to Byleth as "sensei". There will also be honorifics (some may or may not be how as they are in the game, i might even forget them at some points), but no other elements of the language will be added. Bear with me!**

"Run."

Was the only thing going through Byleth's mind as he rushed to protect Edelgard from being chopped in half by the opposing bandit's axe. It was strangely impulsive, wanting to defend someone who he had barely met. He felt that he needed to do this though, remembering the slight connection he felt with the girl when they spoke to each other before battle. Though the conversation was a bit prolonged due to Byleth's constant stutter and unwillingness to look at her eyes. The rush of adrenaline did nothing to ease his clouded mind, losing all sense of reason and forgetting his skill as a mercenary as he stupidly jumped in front of the bandit's axe rather than try to intercept it with his sword.

"W-wh.. Hey!" Edelgard yelled.

Time seemed to slow down as the axe closed in on his body. Memories began flooding his mind, the realization that he was about to die still not correctly registering in his brain. The small moments with father, fond memories with a particular orange-haired tomboy attempting to instill confidence within him, while another blue-haired girl watched from the sidelines, praying for Byleth's safety, and various other memories that flashed before his eyes.

"Leonie... Mari... Sothis... Father... I'm sorry..."

Just as the axe was about to cleave his body in half, a voice yelled in his head.

"Ugh... You idiot! You're always so willing to help others... Yeesh. You can thank me for this later."

A green light began to envelop Byleth in a blink of an eye. The aura had a physical property to it, which deflected the axe away and out of the bandit's hands.

"Huh!?" The bandit exclaimed.

The green aura disappearing as quickly as it appeared, Byleth, despite the fact that he had deflected the vital blow, could not stop the momentum of the jump he did so willingly. He fell on the ground, face first.

"Pwah!"

Face full of grass, Byleth now had the problem of regaining his ground while being disoriented from the fall.

"What the hell!" The bandit shouted.

Despite Edelgard's initial shock, she regained her composure and saw the opening that the bandit gave away. She quickly handled the dagger she tried to protect herself with and stabbed the bandit. Blood splattered out of the wound and onto Edelgard's gear, while the bandit cried in pain. The stab wasn't fatal, however, and the bandit ran away back to his men to regroup.

Having taken care of the immediate threat, Edelgard looked downwards to her savior, who was pitifully on the ground trying to stand up. Seeing the predicament he was in, she opted in to help. She bent down and reached her arm out to Byleth, who saw her act of kindness, and accepted.

Both standing up to full height, Byleth spat out some of the grass still in his mouth.

Wiping off the remaining grass on his face with his offhand, Byleth was about to thank Edelgard when she spoke first,

"Thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here right now..."

Edelgard looked towards the ground in a bout of guilt, also angry at herself for having to rely on the protection of someone she just had met.

Hearing the genuine message of gratitude, Byleth sent a small, but warm smile as his inner shyness began to disappear temporarily.

"It was no problem... I'm glad I was of use to you after our initial conversation..."

Edelgard's eyes widened in surprised at hearing Byleth forming a coherent sentence without a stutter, contrary to their inital encounter. She looked up to a breathtaking sight no young maiden should ever have to witness lest they have their hearts stolen at first glance.

Byleth gazed at Edelgard warmly, a gaze that held a warmth so intense that it could be misinterpreted as a loving gaze sent only to one's significant other. His lips in an upward angle, showing a smile that held a boyish charm while a small but visible blush mingled on his cheeks. His eyes held a hint of his former shyness, but was gone for the most part due to his acknowledgment of her thanks. His handsome features now more noticeable than ever because of the aforementioned gaze. Edelgard finally took notice of the glasses that he was currently wearing, the lens giving him a sharper look that only enhanced the viewing pleasure.

Sufficed to say, the sight was rather enchanting for a young woman like her.

Edelgard was at a lost for words, this sight, along with the fact that he was willing to give his life for her, sparked something in her that she had never felt before. It was something that burned her dreams and ambitions into a crisp in favor of a new one that involved a long, happy life with the man before her.

It was love, and it was at first sight. Well, more like attraction, but it most definitely felt like love.

She had completely forgotten the foreign green aura that shocked her when she first saw it.

She openly stared at Byleth, who had noticed this, and is now becoming much more insecure with his appearance. Was there something on his face? Gah! He thought he had gotten rid of all the grass! The blush on his face intensified from its previous light pink state, becoming a dark red. Byleth turned his gaze down to the ground, but quickly noticed that they were holding hands.

"I-I-I-I'm so sorry!"

Byleth took his hand out of Edelgard's, and apologized profusely.

Edelgard was brought to her senses after the sudden loss of warmth. A blush rapidly forming on her face as it reached her ears, she clasped her hands and looked down shyly, still speechless, like a teenage schoolgirl talking to her crush. She did not acknowledge Byleth's apologies at all.

Jeralt approached the two while riding his trusty steed and said, "Hey, did you just..."

"Hey lovebirds! The bandits are still here, ya know!?" Claude cried out.

"!?"

Edelgard and Byleth immediately snapped out of their current state of mind in exchange for a more serious one, finally remembering the problem at their hands.

Kostas, the bandit that Edelgard had stabbed, clicked his tongue.

"_Shit! What the hell was that green magic!? It just completely blocked my attack!" _Kostas thought.

This situation was not boding well for Kostas and his men. The only advantage they had that fight was Edelgard's small opening, which ended up in a potentially fatal wound for him. The mission was quickly turning into a failure, and he couldn't afford to lose any more men if they were to go for a repeat performance. The Flame Emperor would frown upon his screw up...

Ignoring his wound, he was about to order his men to retreat when he spotted a nostalgic sight before him. Edelgard seemingly enamored with her savior, he spotted the warm gaze that was sent towards her way from Byleth. He mistakenly recognized them as lovers, who were both relishing in the fact that either had not died.

"_Kairi..."_ Kostas thought of his currently deceased significant other sadly. She had died shortly after labor, and despite the priest's best efforts, the baby had died shortly after too. To cope with his sadness and anger, he turned to the life of a bandit, raiding villages and towns alike, stealing anything he could just for the sake of stealing. He felt guilty at first, but it was overshadowed by the anger he had towards the skies above for stealing his wife and child. He closed his heart off to the world, one that was on the path of good and fulfillment, but chose a path of darkness instead.

The sight before him, however, brought a joy that he had not felt since his time with Kairi. It reminded him of the fire that had broke out in their home after a nearby mage in training had underestimated the power of their own Fire magic. Kostas got out, but not without the love of his life in his arms, protected and safe. They didn't care that their house burned down, it was a temporary problem that would resolve itself later. They were safe, and that's all that mattered. The witnessing of a genuine love between two people brought a small glint of light to his darkened heart, a place where he thought no light would ever reach again.

...Of course, he was completely wrong about them being in love. Kairi had always bashed him for being terrible at reading situations, always mistaking it for something else. Though, he had a good guess this time around, as Edelgard was now completely smitten with her dark blue-haired savior.

A tear threatened to spill out of Kostas' eyes. Love... he had experienced it before, and he didn't have the hardened heart anymore to take it away from someone like his was taken from him.

"My men... let's retreat. We can't afford to lose anymore." Kostas said.

"What!? But boss! You saw how close you got to the skank! We can take 'em!"

"No. We shall go. NOW!"

Seeing that Kostas had his mind settled, the bandits grouped up and ran. One of the lone bandits noticed a hint of liquid under the bags of his eyes, but didn't say anything.

Kostas turned his sights over to the duo who now both maintained a serious face as they calculated their next move. He smiled, shocking the group of five containing Byleth, Edelgard, Jeralt, Dimitri, and Claude.

"Cherish each other you two, we will retreat now... From now on, I'll stop being a lowly thief and bandit. I'll convince my men the same."

He ran away following his fellow bandit group, leaving the confused five to interpret his message.

"...What? Wait. Hey! Come back here!" Jeralt called out.

He had half the mind to follow them and kill them, but there was no point. The message he left them with sounded genuine, and the intent to kill was all but lost.

"Ugh... well, at least they're gone." Dimitri said.

Edelgard and Byleth let out a breath, the former not knowing she was holding one. Remembering their earlier situation, Edelgard turned to Byleth and bowed.

"I must apologize. You risked my life to protect mine and all I did was stare. I must've made you uncomfortable." Edelgard said sadly.

"H-Huh? Oh no! Don't apologize! I-I'm not very good with interacting with others, as you can tell. I didn't find it uncomfortable, i-it was just something I'm not used to..." Byleth bashfully replied.

Edelgard giggled slightly, she found his shyness cute. It was a huge contrast to his rather commanding, authoritative persona he showed when he was calling out orders in the previous fight.

She smiled brightly.

"Well, if I'm unable to apologize, let me thank you once again for saving my life. Thank you, Byleth."

Hearing her words of thanks once again, the earlier sight of Byleth's warm gaze and smile returned, resulting in the hitch of Edelgard's breath.

"I'm just glad you're safe..."

Hearing those heartfelt words made her heart soar. She was becoming more infatuated with the man who attracted her with just a glance. She looked down shyly just as she did previously, a blush coming in full force, reaching to the outskirts of her ear.

Those Who Slither in the Dark? The Church? What are those?

Byleth was the only thing running in her mind.

And she couldn't keep him out her mind.

"Dude... she just met him. Byleth must be really smooth..." Claude said with mirth.

"Oh boy... Byleth, I wish you luck. You're going to need it." Dimitri added.

Jeralt smiled at the scene. Despite Byleth's shy nature, he will always get rid of it whenever something of importance and seriousness comes up. And even so, his kindness always overrides his shyness, which allowed him to make some precious friends. His two childhood friends, Leonie and Marianne, were attracted to his delicate, caring nature, and they spent a lot of time together. Leonie tried to beat his shyness out completely, but was unable to do so. They had moved quite a while ago, five years to be precise, but he's sure Byleth had made a lasting impression on them. It was quite scary how Byleth can change from a shy pacifist teddy bear, to an 'ashen' demon ready to protect those he cared about. It almost brought a tear to his eyes to see how his beloved child had grown.

"Captain Jeralt! Is that you?" A voice familar to Jeralt called out.

"Damn..." Jeralt muttered.

**Thank you for reading! Quite**** cheesy and sometimes cringey, I know. Hopefully it's not too overbearing, but if you're looking for drama, look somewhere else! You won't find it here.**

**The story will be more of a collection of oneshots, and Byleth's interactions with (mostly) the female students. The supports are very adorable, and I'd like to expand on them with this. No war or things like that, Edelgard will be wayyyy too in love. No conflicts shall arise in this story, and TWSITD will be dealt with easily.**

**Once again, thanks for reading! I'll probably post the next chapter by next week, depending on my mood. Don't expect too much though!**


	2. Edelgard, Sothis

**Yo! Another chapter, with Sothis and more Edelgard! Other girls to come soon!**

**Hope yall enjoy! Bit earlier than expected by hey, what can ya expect.**

**WARNING: Fluffiness, Cliches!**

**Promise**

Byleth's eye pupils were spinning comically as he walked towards the classes of the monastery. He was supposed to teach? He, a person who couldn't hold a conversation without stuttering on the simplest of sentences!? How could he? Sure, he was a dominant personality when murdering the shit out of some bandits in protection of his village, but being a sociable human being? Impossible! Blasphemy! The rules of this world demanded that he has borderline Dissociative Identity Disorder, but of course, it would be treated as something normal! What if his students didn't like him? What if they thought he was an incompetent teacher whose only redeeming factor was that Jeralt was his dad? What if his shy personality denied him from forming any good relationships? What if he was unable to protect his students should the situation call for it? What if-

"OH WOULD YOU BE QUIET!?" Sothis yelled.

"Ah!"

Byleth was brought out of his inner turmoil at the sound of Sothis' voice. He was now more scared than ever. Monastery bystanders looked at Byleth to see him looking at... _something_ in the air, but with frightened eyes.

"You need to stop this, Byleth! You haven't met them yet, so would you have more confidence in yourself!?" Sothis exclaimed.

A guilty look formed on Byleth's face. He realized that his inner conflict only served to burden Sothis. If he kept this up, maybe even Sothis could begin to hate him... He didn't want to lose her too...

Sothis' eyes widened at his thoughts, but she quickly softened her gaze from a previously angry one. She didn't mean to lash out like that, she wanted her Byleth to just understand that he is, in fact, an amazing person, albeit with shy tendencies. Hearing him go on a self-deprecating breakdown hurt her more than she could admit. She... loved him, and wanted him to acknowledge that his shyness is only more proof of his innate kindness.

"Byleth... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. But understand, that I would never leave you, alright? I intend to stick with you until the end. I mean, we're basically bound together until death! ...Listen, please think more positively of yourself. It hurts me to see you like this, and you know how much I hate being hurt! Hmph!" Sothis ended with a cute pout.

Hearing Sothis pour her heart out, even if it lacked grace, brought Byleth out of his turmoil and smile slightly.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Sothis, to have hurt you. I won't do it again, I promise. I'm happy that you care for me like that..." Byleth said.

Sothis turned a bit pink, "W-Well it wouldn't be good for me if I didn't care at least a little bit! Without me, you would've gotten yourself killed! You should consider yourself lucky for having me!"

"I do consider myself lucky... to have you beside me. Thank you, for everything, Sothis. I hope to repay you back someday..."

Byleth had a warm smile on his face, now happier and a tiny bit more confident. He continued his walk towards to where the classes were, while Sothis was now in the middle of her own inner turmoil,

"_This idiot... This damn, lovable idiot... Uuuuh... " _Sothis let out a cute squeal unheard by Byleth, silently thanking herself for being able to hear his thoughts while hers was completely unknown to him. This would soon bite her in the back.

_"Bound together until death, huh..? I guess we're pretty much married... That's really nice, actually..." _Byleth thought in a slight daze.

Sothis, doing her best Byleth-trying-to-be-social impression, became a stuttering mess.  
She denied the very idea of marriage, saying that she is much too divine for the likes of him.

Byleth still held the smile, completely understanding that what she says usually means the opposite, especially if said in any affectionate context.

Despite her constant denials, though, she couldn't help the happy feeling of the idea of being married to Byleth.

"_Marriage, huh..?" _Sothis lips curved into a wistful smile.

"_How would he even propose to me? Put a ring on his own finger? Hehe..."_

Sothis giggled.

"_What if I had an actual body of my own..?"_

Both confined into a small bedroom, cuddling, holding hands, head caressing...

That was very appealing.

**Stares**

"...Edelgard..?"

A small shiver made its way onto the back of Edelgard's neck as she recognized the meek voice, the source of the voice belonging to the man who had captured her heart all too quickly, but meant more to her than anything.

"Byleth! Hello... What are you doing here? Do you need anything from me?" She replied.

"U-Um... sorry for disturbing you..." Byleth said timidly.

Edelgard had to reach the deep confines of her brain in order to shut off neurons that would urge her to glomp Byleth. In her best efforts, she maintained a cool, calculative gaze outside. It was somewhat ruined by the quivering of her lips and the occasional twitches of her eyebrows that threatened to break her outer facade. A light pink blush dusting her face, she still looked completely normal to Byleth, but that's only because he couldn't properly look at her.

"I was supposed to go to the classrooms... b-but I seem to have stumbled upon the reception hall here... can you lead me the way?" Byleth asked.

"Of course! I'd be happy to!" Edelgard beamed.

"T-Thank you..!"

She pointed into a direction that identified the way they were supposed to go for their destination, and Byleth nodded in kind. On their way out of the cafeteria, a few people noticed the two walking together, and the duo became the subject of their murmuring.

"Who's the new guy?"

"It's Edelgard~! Wait... who's the guy following her?"

"He's pretty cute..."

Byleth was becoming somewhat nervous, thinking that Edelgard's reputation would be tarnished if she was spotted walking with someone like him...

"_No_." Byleth shook his head.

"_I promised Sothis._"

Byleth now held a look of determination as his slight slouch became non-existent, now walking up straight. Confidence, confidence, confidence...

His newfound confidence did not help whatsoever.

The stares following his person still nerved him, and beads of sweat began crawling down from the side of his head.

Now going into an extreme state of nervousness, his eyes bore holes into Edelgard's back, his gaze intensifying more as the state of his being grew more unstable.

Edelgard, meanwhile, felt the intense gaze on her back in very heavy doses. She didn't know what to feel about the current situation she was in. Why was Byleth staring at her back so intently? It couldn't mean that he was...

Really interested in her cape!?

"Um... Byleth?"

Edelgard stopped walking and turned to Byleth. However, the sight of a strong, determined gaze coming from the usually meek Byleth made her legs waver slightly.

"_W-what!?"_

Edelgard looked on in shock and excitement as Byleth kept walking towards her in a pace that only increased her anticipation.

"Byleth, wait..."

Byleth did not hear any of this. His state of mind going totally blank due to the number of stares that the duo received on their way to the classrooms. His eyes strained in concentration to whatever was in front of him, gaining a glint of desire, stemming from wanting to be away from everything.

"B-Byleth..."

Edelgard, completely misreading the look of desire coming from Byleth's eyes, braced herself from whatever he was about to do.

She was ecstatic. He was attracted to her too! And he was going to reveal his undying love for her in front of quite the audience! Oh gosh, this can't be happening right now! She felt that public displays of affection wouldn't be her thing, but if it's with Byleth...

Hell yeah.

Edelgard puckered her lips, and waited for the impact. Impact came, but not in the way she was suspecting.

Byleth had walked into her, which pushed both of them down onto the floor, and their position was rather... interesting to say the least.

"Byleth! I-It's too soon! We're in public!" She cried out.

Despite the vocal protest, she did feel the need to burn this moment into her memory forever.

Just as she was about to bask in this moment a bit longer, she realized that Byleth was not moving.

Taking a look at his face, she found that he had passed out.

"Byleth!? Oh no!"

Edelgard proceeded to get out of their current position (reluctantly but quickly) and set his head on her lap. Tears began rushing out of Edelgard's face as she panicked, not knowing what to do.

"N-no! Please don't die on me! Someone help!"

Some of the priests came over to see what was going on, but before they were able to do any analysis on him, Byleth's right hand reached up to Edelgard's left cheek, cupping it slightly.  
Edelgard's hand quickly grabbed his own, as she absently took note of the warmth his hands exuded.

"Byleth!?"

"Don't worry, I won't die..."

Edelgard knew to trust Byleth's word on not dying, so she allowed a little bit of relief to flow in her pounding heart. but what he said afterwards was completely unexpected.

"E-el..."

He passed out before he could utter anymore syllables.

Her beloved Byleth... had called her El.

She did not know that it was due to his stutter.

**I know I said it would be a week before a new chapter, but I felt pretty good so I went ahead a wrote some more! Next chapter will feature the other girls, so look forward to that! I intend to write at least once a week, if I feel any fluff bubbling, but no set schedule, sorry! See yall next time.**


	3. Extras: Volume 1

**Hey yall, here's some extras that can be considered canon and may string into later oneshots in the story, enjoy!**

**I've edited some parts of the 1st and 2nd chapter to make things flow better, (example: Edelgard taking notice of Byleth's gaze)  
Some spelling errors were addressed as well. Reread if you want! It's still basically the same thing though.**

**Characters: Dimitri, Dedue, Kostas, Kostas' lover (OC).**

**WARNING: Fluff, and Possessive love**

**(If you want an image on what Kairi looks like, think of the female sprite of the awakening villager!)**

**Unexpected Desire:**

Dimitri couldn't sleep.  
The recent events of the past few days replayed in his head like it was in an endless loop.

He felt... irritated.

Why did Edelgard have to..!

His heart burned with jealousy as he remembered the look of love she gave Byleth, and the warm gaze that he returned.

It hurt. Too much.

It wasn't fair.

Byleth had barely met them! And for him to come in to protect Edelgard so

_sexily._

Was just...

Unfair.

HE was supposed to be the one being protected by Byleth!

That green aura that appeared back then, was so... mysterious, enchanting, and... warm.

And for Edelgard to have been so close to that total hunk...

That thieving cat.

He would not go down without a fight.

He will make Byleth his.

Edelgard was just an obstacle.

And he will ruthlessly get rid of the wretched woman, so his Byleth can be with him. And _only _him.

No man or woman will get in the way of his first, and only love.

A dark look glazed Dimitri's eyes.

"Soon..."

Dedue, who was currently outside of his lord's room as a bodyguard, felt the air become ten times colder.

He gulped.

**Meeting:**

"Where the hell is he!?"

Kostas was currently sitting in the place where The Flame Emperor was supposed to meet him after the deed was done. It was NOT done, but he was prepared for the consequences. If he were to be killed, so be it. His men would still be safe, and it would only mean one step closer to his lover Kairi.

He had convinced his men to abandon this type of lifestyle, recalling his heartbreaking tale of him and Kairi. He mentioned the love he witnessed between the boy and girl in that battle, and they were moved. The bandits, while sad that this may be the end of their lives together (they have formed quite the camaraderie), were touched by their leader's story and agreed, but only on the promise that they meet up for some drinks from time to time.

Kostas cried, to have such loyal men by his side despite the terrible things they have done was too much for him to handle, and they departed with a heartfelt goodbye.

...Now that his inner flashback was done, he looked up to see the sun was setting. He was pretty annoyed, but if the absence of the Flame Emperor meant that he would live one more day, so be it. He would live another day, for Kairi.

Unbeknownst to him, the intimidating, powerful Flame Emperor was currently in their room, using their past time to draw a rather adorable portrait of their token of affection. They thought they had somewhere to be, but it was completely forgotten, too occupied with their current drawing to really care.

"But man.. those two. Really reminds me of us, huh Kairi?" Kostas thought out loud.

Kairi, Sothis bless her heart, was looking over him, her spirit bound to her one true love, Kostas.  
Despite the sentiment however, she had an angry look over her face.

"YOU DAMN DINGUS! WILL YOU EVER BE ABLE TO READ THE SITUATION!?"

Kairi was all too aware of the one-sided love from Edelgard's part, she had witnessed the scene. It reminded her of when she first met Kostas. But while it was cute, for her dumb hubby to change to a life of good after a misunderstanding was wayyyy too in character for him. How much of an idiot can he be!?

"Ugh..."

She supposed she couldn't stay mad at him for long, feeling quite guilty that she had died so easily which in turn led him into a path of darkness. She really couldn't blame him. But she had spent a long time watching her lover go down that path, and she was always hurt whenever he would do a terrible deed.

"I guess I should thank those two... Welcome back, honey."

Her bound spirit disappeared into Kostas' body, and for some reason, Kostas felt his soul and body ease up, becoming as light as a feather. He felt the need to hug himself, despite the lack of a breezy air to make him do so. A tear crept its way out of Kostas.

"I love you..."

**Hope you enjoyed these extras! Look forward to Byleth and his shenanigans in the next chapter!**


	4. Priestess, Edelgard

**Yo, guys and gals! Another chapter, featuring Marianne and a Priestess! Leonie will have a brief cameo, but will get her Byleth-loving in the next chapter. Anyways, enjoy!**

**WARNING: Fluffiness, some Hurt / Comfort, Cliches!**

**Focus Characters: Edelgard, Marianne, Priestess**

_**Healing:**_

After Byleth passed out, a priestess who heard Edelgard came by and used her Healing magic, which brought him back to consciousness. Eyes still closed, he woke up on what he thought was a very comfortable pillow, which made him come to the conclusion that he probably passed out, fully aware that the stares were probably too much for him. How the hell was he able to intimidate groups of hardened warriors into submission, and still become incredibly tense at the stares of civilians?

...Granted, they weren't really civilians, but probably good people learning the arts of combat and magic to protect those close to them. So why should he be scared?

The angry visage of an orange haired tomboy invaded his thoughts. The look she gave promised many beatings in the near future.

Never mind. Good people are scary, too.

Ugh... He passed out in broad daylight. Edelgard must be so disappointed in him... No way she'll accept him as her sensei...

As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized some faces watching over him. However, the one he recognized, Edelgard, was directly over him as he slowly came to a realization.

His head was on her lap.

"E-Edelgard!?"

Byleth quickly stood up and waved his hands as some sort of pseudo-apology. He was completely unaware of the surrounding students that were observing the commotion.

"I'm so s-sorry!"

Edelgard, inwardly sad that he had escaped her lap pillow, but extremely relieved and happy to see that her darling Byleth was alright, waved it off.

"It's fine, Byleth. I'm just glad you're okay." She said.

"O-Oh..." Byleth's cheeks had turned into a shade of pink, and as a gesture of embarrassment, rubbed the back of his head with one of his arms.

Edelgard's nose threatened to bleed slightly at the cuteness.

"Um... Byleth-san, was it? When I healed you, it didn't seem like you had any immediate symptoms, but... Please come with me, we must get you to the infirmary to make sure you aren't suffering any hidden illness or worse. Passing out like that isn't healthy." The priestess who had healed him had a genuine look of worry on her face.

"Ah..."

Byleth turned his head to the priestess who had saved him. She was easy on the eyes. Long, black hair flowed down the crown of her head, going as low as her waist. A silky veil covered the hair, but the veil was much more translucent than the other veils that the other priests wore. Pretty blue eyes that held curiosity and worry for the boy in question, maybe a bit of amusement at his rather sudden apology to Edelgard. Her cleric gown only enhanced the beauty that the woman exuded, a black and white contrast that fit perfectly with her appearance.

Byleth let a small wave of happiness wash over him. He had always admired people who dedicated their time to learn and practice the arts of healing magic. Instead of getting their hands dirty over killing, they used their power to heal those in need. Saving lives instead of taking them. The happiness was short-term, as it saddened him that the world he lived in required such a need.

He stopped his thoughts from taking a darker turn, and acknowledged the lovely woman with a warm, charming smile.

"Of course... Thank you for healing me, I really appreciate it..." Byleth said.

At the sight of the really cute boy sending her a warm smile, her cheeks glowed red.

"N-No problem! Here, let me take you there!" She replied hastily.

Reaching for his arm, she intended to grab his wrist, but absentmindedly took hold of his hand, and rushed out of the cafeteria. Their destination: her dorm room.

... At least that's what small little devil version of her said to do. Tempting, yes, but this time, the slightly more dominant little angel went for the more appropriate destination.

Appropriate most of the time.

"Wait!" Edelgard reached her hand out to the retreating forms of the two, growing anxious at the fact that her Byleth was going to be alone with another woman, an attractive one at that. Before she could really do anything, however, she was bombarded with comments and questions by the female populace of the crowd who surrounded them.

"Who was that?"

"What's your relationship with him?"

"Ohmygosh, he was soooo cute! They'd make a great couple!"

"Wow... Edelgard has a boyfriend?"

"For someone so serious like Edelgard to get a boyfriend..."

The rather intimate questions and comments that entertained the idea of her and Byleth being a couple caused her to grow red in embarrassment. She tried to quell the noise by putting a finger to her lips, but it only served to enhance the teenage girl gossip.

Edelgard, getting quite fed up, proceeded to yell.

"QUIET!"

The effect was instantaneous, the students quieted down, fully aware of what Edelgard was capable of in their training sessions. Catch her on a bad day, and you'll be lucky to get out of with a few broken bones.

"He... He's just an acquaintance of mine, alright!?"

The group of women did not believe her one bit, the raging blush on the pale maiden's face was rather unconvincing.

"Suuuuuureee..." One of them said.

"I-I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah yeah yeah... try looking in the mirror and convincing yourself that. I mean, you're practically a tomato!"

"It's okay Edel-chan! We won't tell anybody else! He is quite the catch though, congratulations!"

"The ice princess has been conquered!"

The group was about to cheer until Edelgard spoke again,

"Stop it... Now." Edelgard said in a icy, frigid tone.

The area, now several times colder, caused the group of girls to stop talking and nod their head slowly in a scared fashion.

"Good. Now if you will excuse me... I must go find my beloved." Edelgard said.

Edelgard walked out of the cafeteria quickly in search of Byleth, and hopefully the vile wench that was the priestess did not take any of Byleth's firsts.

Everyone heard the beloved part, but no one dared to call her out on it.

She was way too scary.

_**Evaporate:**_

After the brief check up, Edelgard crashed into the room gracefully, saying that Byleth had to be somewhere. The priestess insisted that they do another check up, to which Edelgard complied, wanting to make sure Byleth was in good health. The priestess found no problems, and allowed Byleth to go, before Byleth realized something.

"Ah... u-um. Priestess-san... what's your name? It was really rude of me not to ask..." Byleth asked with a bit of guilt.

Priestess smiled at this, thanking the Goddess for giving the world such a pure, kind soul.

"Hehe... it's-"

Before she could say it, however, she was interrupted by Edelgard.

"Sorry, Byleth, we have to go now, we can introduce ourselves later."

She grabbed Byleth's arm and led him outside of the room.

Byleth was too shy for any protests, and understood Edelgard's reasoning. He felt really bad for Priestess-san though, he should make it up to her later.

The walk towards the classrooms had a comfortable silence. Edelgard was leading the way while Byleth followed. They were getting really close now.

Well, the silence was comfortable, for Byleth, at least. He still contained some embarrassment from the earlier events, hoping Edelgard wouldn't think any lesser of him.

"_Sothis, are you there? Are you alright?" _

"..."

No answer, probably still sleeping. Usually after intense, brutal training that caused Byleth to pass out, Sothis wouldn't wake up for a while after he did. He assumed it was some kind of healing process, probably to ensure that Byleth didn't wake up with any pain himself. He didn't go through any training, though, just went and passed out from nervousness. He did feel much calmer and relaxed, so maybe it was more of a mental heal rather than physical.

Byleth smiled. He really was lucky to have her.

As for Edelgard, her face was still completely red, up to the point where steam was coming out from her body. She couldn't bear to look at him at the moment. She recalled several events that did not ease any of the heat on her face. One that kept playing in her mind, however, was when Byleth called her El. Or rather, stuttered El, but she didn't need to know that.

"_E-el..."_

Despite her overwhelming embarrassment, the fact that Byleth had called her El made her all giddy inside. The giddiness causing her steam levels to rise, and Byleth took notice of this.

"Edelgard... Are you doing okay? It seems like you're really heating up..." Byleth said.

They had just arrived at the classrooms, and in front of them stood the building of the Golden Deer class, connected to the Black Eagles and the Blue Lions classes. Inside the Golden Deer class were several students socializing, studying, or occupied with something else.

"H-huh? Of course! Never better!" Edelgard lied.

In truth, she felt way too hot, which was kind of insulting considering her secret occupation, but Byleth's next action would only break that record of heat.

Byleth, spotting the lie, put his hand on Edelgard's forehead, feeling a heat more intense than any other Fire spell he had encountered.

"Edelgard... You're burning up! A-Are you sure you're okay?"

Steam was now pouring out of her, imitating a locomotive, and her eye pupils turned into swirls as the holy foreign entity that was Byleth's hand made its way onto Edelgard's forehead. This action caused her to remember a similar moment previously, when Byleth cupped Edelgard's cheek to assure her that he was alright.

She couldn't take it anymore.

She ran off.

"H-Hey!"

Edelgard could not be seen anymore at this distance.

She was later found in the pond, still blushing but cooled off quite a bit. But that came with the price of a dried up pond. The fish were cooked to a crisp, and were ready to be included in a hot, hearty meal.

A certain fluffy, green haired girl was heard screaming in delight.

Byleth, still extremely worried for her, wished for her health and safety. Byleth looked to his front and towards the Golden Deer classroom. A feeling of dread began to form in him.

Introductions.

This was going to be bad.

He walked into the Golden Deer classroom and gauged the room. Some students stood out more than others, however none of them seemed to notice that he was here. His eyes came across a light blue haired girl with braids that were done... in a familiar way.

He couldn't place a finger on it, she seemed so familiar and yet... nothing came to mind.

The answer he was looking for finally came to mind when she stood up and turned around.

Byleth paled.

She was still as beautiful as ever.

"Mari...?"

_**Reunion pt. 1**_

Marianne was quietly studying a book about stable duty, and the various ways to take care of the horses at the monastery. One of the drawings reminded her of a horse that she helped take care of long ago, the horse belonging to one of her cherished friend's dad. Her eyes had a look of longing, lingering on the picture for a moment, before deciding that it was enough for today. She placed her glasses onto the table, a gift given to her five years ago, and stood up. Book closed, she turned around, ready to put the book back into it's original place. But her eyes caught a sight that made her eyes water.

Byleth.

He still looked similar to how he was five years ago, just taller, broader, and...

even better looking than how he was before.

"Mari...?"

Marianne gasped. Many questions flowed rapidly through her head, questions like, "Why was he here?" "What was he doing here?" and so on.

Despite this, though,

She couldn't deny the happiness that bubbled through her very being.

Her best friend, fellow nature lover, fellow introvert, fellow glasses-wearer, and most importantly,

Her first love, had come back into her life.

"By-!"

She was interrupted by a soft crashing of another body against hers. Byleth had ran in to pull her into an embrace. Her eyes widened as she felt her shoulder become rather damp.

"I-I thought... I'd never see you a-again... Mari..." Byleth said tearfully.

Byleth was now silently crying, with the occasional sniff, wetting the left shoulder of Marianne's uniform.

She didn't care, though, as she returned the embrace in full force. She rested her head onto Byleth's shoulder, crying as well, completely uncaring of the looks that they have attracted onto them.

"Byleth... I'm so sorry..!"

Unlike Byleth, she was openly sobbing, soaking Byleth's coat.

She was finally reunited with him, and she wouldn't let this chance slip away.

They let out five years worth of locked up emotions within them, not wanting to be separated from eachother. They held on tightly, as though the slightest slip would end with the two's separation once again.

On the opposite end of the room, an orange haired girl that had occupied Byleth's thoughts earlier today had two hands over her mouth in shock.

"No way..."

**And that's a wrap! Minor cliffhanger, but I'll get the next chapter in as soon as possible! So look forward to that. Thanks for staying cool! **


	5. Marianne, Leonie

**Yo! I shoulda finished this earlier, to be honest... welp, anotha chapter, featuring Leonie and Marianne, the childhood friend duo!**

**I edited some parts in Chapter 3, as some dialogue didn't make sense, with a few corrections in Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 (spelling errors) Reread if you want! Still the same thing altogether.**

**I really appreciate the reviews yall! Thank you so much! I'm glad the fluff is enjoyable, expect more in the future! **

**WARNING: Fluff, some more crying, people thirsting for Byleth, Byleth being dense, also some potty mouth at the end  
ALSO CLICHES**

_**Reunion pt. 2:**_

The students in the room with Marianne and Byleth were shocked. To see Marianne act so familiar with someone else other than Leonie was unheard of. The fact that the person was male made it even more shocking!

They stayed silent in respect for the pair, understanding that the reunion came as a surprise to the both of them. They let the two hug it out, and now, they were simply basking in each other's presence.

It seemed like a while before the duo had stopped crying, and separated from their hug. Their arms still held onto each other, and they looked at one another on the face.

Byleth, noticing a stray tear crawling down from Marianne's eye, intercepted it by cupping her cheek with his hand and wiping it off with his thumb. The action causing Marianne to both smile and blush.  
He took this moment to take in Marianne's features. The years were very kind to her appearance. Beautiful, hazel eyes that looked at him with a variety of emotions, lacking the eyebags that she had the last time he saw her. Light blue hair that was done in multiple braids, with one of them sitting on the top of her head going to opposite ends. She had bangs that nearly covered her eyes, but stopped right at her eyebrows, hiding her forehead. The sides of her head held long strands of hair that separated at the ear and reached as far as her chest.

Byleth smiled and tucked some of Marianne's hair behind her ear, causing her blush to deepen.

"You're as beautiful as ever, Mari..."

The words that came out of his mouth caused poor Marianne to blush even harder, which radiated heat onto Byleth's hand. That warmth combined with his own hand transferred onto her own cheek, creating an endless loop of heat. Marianne, feeling the residual warmth, began to feel like mush. She loved the feeling, however. It was a feeling she took for granted when she was younger, as Byleth would always do this whenever she cried. It helped ease her worries, and it was during those moments that she learned to accept the warmth of another person. She took one of her hands and placed it on Byleth's, the one that cupped her cheek, and leaned her face onto it.

"Byleth..." She said softly.

The pair gazed at each other lovingly, Marianne doing so intentionally while the opposite was true for Byleth. He was simply ecstatic at the sight of his childhood friend, one that he thought he had lost.

Byleth's density knew no bounds.

The students witnessing the scene saw the intensity behind their gazes, finding it hard to breathe with the loving atmosphere. It was like they were in their own little world. Most of them were quite envious of the duo, while others just smiled at the sight. However, one of the students wasn't paying attention to the scene and was looking down, bangs covering their eyes. The person began walking over to the couple, eyes still covered.

Marianne became slightly more aware of the situation as the euphoria from seeing Byleth let up a bit. As the realization settled in, she quickly looked down in embarrassment.

"_Oh goddess... Byleth just said I was beautiful! And... he's looking at me so... intensely..."_

She looked back up only to see how close their faces were. A few inches more, and their lips would be touching! The close proximity did nothing to ease Marianne's racing heart. The glasses he wore adding to the effect, Byleth's eyes held the same intensity, and time seemed to stop for Marianne as her mind became hazy.

Multiple years of separation without any contact with Byleth broke her heart, but she held onto the hope that they would reunite again. Days of waiting for him became weeks, those weeks became months, and eventually, they became years. Despite the long wait, only one interaction with Byleth had broken the shackles of her long dormant feelings for the boy in front of her.

Marianne took the hand still holding onto Byleth's, and brought both of them down so they were parallel with their other arms. Eyes locked with Byleth, she leaned forward, still in a slight haze. Her feelings could not remain hidden any longer.

Byleth, meanwhile, was confused about the sudden action. He saw that the distance between them was closing, but did not understand the meaning behind it. Her half-lidded expression made him think that maybe she wasn't feeling well. She was rather fragile when they were younger.

Just as he was about to do something, a figure came behind him and tapped him on the back. The foreign touch sent a shiver down Byleth's spine, his shy instincts making him flinch, causing Marianne to come back to her senses.

Byleth took his hands out of Marianne's and turned around, and saw a figure right in front of him with orange hair, a side tail accompanying it. Getting slightly nervous at the closeness of another human being who he didn't know, he backed up a bit.

**_Reconciliation_**_**:**_

"U-Umm... Hello..." Byleth said shyly.

The person opted to stay quiet and remained looking downwards.

Marianne, who couldn't see with Byleth in front of her, peeked out the side of Byleth's shoulder, and her eyes widened.

"_Leonie..."_

She immediately understood.

Marianne backed away from Byleth, having a good idea of what's to come.

"H-Hello?"

Byleth was at a lost on the intentions that the person in front of him could have. He couldn't read her! Byleth couldn't get a good look at her face, and he was slightly becoming more anxious by the second. Were they mad at him for coming into the classroom so suddenly? Sorry! He didn't know!

A drop of liquid made its way to the floor, coming from the hidden face.

Still in a state of confusion as well as anxiety, he was about to voice his apology when the face of the girl looked up, and any word that would come out of his mouth died in his throat.

"_I-It can't be..."_

The tear-stained face of Leonie came into his vision. While her hair was different, much longer than the tomboy style she once had, there was no mistaking the slight tan and orange eyes.

A frown marred her features. Her lips curved down, signifying an upset expression, if the tears weren't of any indication. An afterimage of Leonie's younger self had set itself to the side of the current Leonie, both making the same expression. One was made because of their separation, the other was made because of their reunion.

The goddesses had blessed him on this very day.

Both of his friends whom he thought were long lost and out of his life, had returned to him.

"Leonie..."

Byleth's mouth was slightly agape, still not accepting how lucky he was.

Leonie's eyes widened. He still recognized her. That alone, made her the happiest she's ever been in that short moment.

She crashed into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably, mouthing Byleth the whole time.

Like Marianne, she had reunited with Byleth.

Byleth, having dried up his own tears with Marianne, simply put his arms around her, and let her head rest onto his chest. His anxiety and confusion gone, he proceeded to whisper sweet nothings into her ear, reassuring her that he was here again, and that everything would be alright. Uncharacteristic of him, but the emotions he felt meeting them again buried his shyness, if just for this one moment.

Eventually, Leonie had separated from Byleth, and in turn, he retracted his arms from Leonie. She avoided eye contact with Byleth and looked somewhere to the side.  
There was a heavy blush present on her face.

"Leonie?"

"Thank you..." She said.

Byleth resisted the urge to chuckle. The image of a tough, training manic tomboy slightly dulling as the same girl was acting so timidly in front of his very eyes.

A comfortable silence fell over the two for a bit, until Leonie decided to ask something,

"So... what do you think?"

"Hm?"

Byleth had a look of confusion on his face.

Leonie pointed to her little side ponytail.

"Uh... Oh! I think it suits you, but why? You said that longer hair got in the way of training."

A question that was relatively easy to answer, but Leonie found difficulty in telling the truth.

"I-I just let it grow out a bit, it didn't seem too harmful." She lied.

Byleth smiled.

"Well, I really do think it suits you, so don't worry about it."

Leonie was happy with the compliment but felt guilty that one of the first things she said to him was a lie.

Even so, there was absolutely no way she could tell him the real reason.

_After a rather strict and tiring training session, Byleth and Leonie sat against a rock, next to Marianne who had been watching them from afar. _

_Leonie put a hand through her short hair as sweat became abundant, trying to avoid the sweat getting into her eyes._

_"Ack, I might need to cut my hair soon, it's getting too long and sticky for me..." Leonie said._

_Byleth looked at Leonie and saw that her hair was in fact getting longer than usual, but it was still very short in comparison to Marianne. Byleth knew that despite the amount of times she has done it, she didn't really like cutting it. She thought it was beautiful, but had more priority on becoming stronger, so she cut it in fear of it interfering with any training._

_An idea came into Byleth's head._

_"U-um... Leonie... I think you'd look g-good with long hair... I-It's a waste to cut it..."_

_Leonie's eyes widened and she looked at Byleth._

_"W-what? What are you saying!?"_

_Byleth, scared of any physical abuse that may come from Leonie if she got mad, meekly answered, _

_"I-I think it's a waste... your hair is beautiful, and I don't think it'll get in the way of t- training or anything..."_

_Leonie looked away from Byleth._

_"I'll... I'll think about it." She said quietly._

_Byleth, relieved that she didn't sound mad, returned to eating the sandwich that Marianne had prepared for him._

_If one were to look closely, they'd be able to spot the blush creeping onto Leonie's ears._

"Thank you... Anyways, enough of the sobbing. It doesn't suit me. It seems like we're back together now!" Leonie beamed.

Marianne came out of her spot behind Byleth and stood next to him, she had a wide smile on her face.

Byleth, still somewhat in disbelief, smiled fondly.

"Yeah... I'm really happy to be with you two again."

Leonie and Marianne both looked up to see a very handsome smile that emitted nothing but genuine happiness. Their faces flushed, and they gazed affectionately at the young man.

**And done! Thank you so much for reading! Sorry for the bit of potty mouth there, but hey, it is what it is. Anyways, I'm planning on releasing extras volume 2, covering some of Dimitri's shenanigans as well as somethin else. I plan on touching on the backstory for the trio we have, even if it's a crack fic, I do intend to have some cohesion in this fanfic. Anyways, enough for now, thank you again, I'll have the extras up by tomorrow or the day after. See ya!**


	6. Dimitri, Claude, Sothis

**Sorry for taking so long, I was busy yesterday.**

**Meant to release extras, wrote a chapter instead. Sorry! I'll write the extras later. For now, enjoy!**

**(Note: I intend for it to be easier to telegraph what girl will be in the chapter, so you can skip their parts if need be. Maybe you don't like the character or the idea of them being in love with Byleth, it's okay! Just remember that it will take a bit for all women to be covered, we're still in the introductory phases)**

**WARNING: Contains Claude inner monologuing, Dimitri jealousy, Sothis crushin on Byleth, and cliches**

**Characters: Dimitri, Claude, Sothis**

**Smooth:**

"Hoo boy, it's been a long day."

Claude stood outside on the field directly in front of the monastery classrooms. He heard news that the new guy, Byleth, was supposed to replace their former sensei. He didn't see him anywhere though, and it was quite late into the afternoon. What was holding him up?

His question was answered quickly, as he saw Byleth and Edelgard walking towards the Golden Deer classroom, stopping suddenly.

"_Ah, there he is... Uh, what_?"

He noticed Edelgard producing steam as if it were natural for a human body to do so. However, Claude took one look at Edelgard's red hot face and quickly deduced why she was in that state.

"_Yeesh, for the usually serious Edelgard crushing this hard on someone is quite the sight..._" Claude chuckled.

He witnessed the act of Byleth placing his hands on Edelgard's forehead to see if she was alright. The action causing Edelgard to run away as fast as if she were to be teleported with Warp magic onto another area.

"_Byleth, dude, a maiden's heart can only take so much, ya know?"_

Claude let his lips curve upward.

"Heh, things'll be interesting around here..." He said to himself.

"Claude?"

Claude turned his head and saw Dimitri coming from the opposite end of the grassfield, looking slightly worried.

"Have you seen Byleth? I heard he was supposed to come around here to introduce himself as the new sensei."

"Yeah, in fact, he's right there, in front of my class. Looks like he's checkin' out Golden Deer first." Claude pointed his finger towards Byleth.

Dimitri looked over to where Claude pointed, eyes sparkling, and saw that Byleth was indeed there, entering into the Golden Deer's classroom.

"In that case, I'll head over to greet him. See you." Dimitri calmly said, voice hiding the affection he held for Byleth.

Claude, being the seasoned trickster and schemer he is, read between the lines quite easily.

"_Oh goddess... Dimitri too? Damn, Byleth! You a playa, man!"_

_"_I'll come with you."

Claude smirked and followed Dimitri, wanting to see what happens next.

As they approached the room, their ears picked up on a soft crying, and they grew alert. Their pace quickened in case of trouble.

When they reached the room, the sobs grew louder, but they didn't sense any immediate danger, the lack of magic or weapon clashing was taken into consideration to further the point that it was probably safe. Perhaps someone was reading a sad story? Or maybe Hilda was manipulating someone into doing her homework..? Either way, the curiosity was there. Reaching the doors, they stood by and peeked inside. The sight of Marianne and Byleth crying in each other's arms surprised the both of them initially, but the surprise developed into something else for the two boys.

"_You work fast, bro_..." Claude in particular, was impressed. Another one? To him, Byleth was just a total human magnet (Sothis scoffed in her sleep.). It seemed like love interests just flocked to the young boy, completely disregarding gender. Claude couldn't tell if he was either fortunate or unfortunate. He remembered Byleth's shyness and concluded that the young boy was indeed unfortunate. He didn't seem shy with the "hugging in front of a lot of strangers" thing, however.

Dimitri's line of thinking was quite different. MUCH different. Many unanswered questions went through his head, as he grew with silent anger.

Claude felt a dark aura begin to form behind him, beads of sweat now forming on his forehead in response.

"Another skank to deal with... heheh..." The same crazed look that glazed Dimitri's face the other day appeared again. Scaring Claude immensely as he had turned around at that exact moment to find the source of the dark aura.

"_Never mind... I don't want to see anything involving this guy and one-sided love..."_

Claude returned to the sight in front of him, they were now separated. Both had stopped crying and now stood there looking at each other happily. There was something heartwarming about this sight, in fact, it felt like two long lost lovers finding each other simply by the wheels of fate. He smiled at the pair, maybe that was it. Too bad he'll have to deal with Edelgard and Dimitri afterwards, both not exactly easy to handle when upset...

He saw Leonie approach the two rather slowly and cringed.

"_Uh oh, seems like Leonie doesn't like this blatant display of affection. Sorry, Byleth, I'll have Manuela on standby_."

Fortunately for Byleth, instead of a beating Claude had expected, Leonie crashed into his chest crying, surprising him once again.

"_Leonie too!? With the tough, tomboy personality? What the shit, Byleth?"_

Claude's usually calm outside demeanor was now replaced with an agape expression, mouth wide open. The dark aura behind him emanating to severe levels.

"Tch... _this guy is full of surprises..._"

Leonie cried for quite a bit until she separated with Byleth, as they began a small and subtle conversation, unheard to Claude and Dimitri.

Leonie's blush did not go unnoticed.

"Looks like we're back together again!" Leonie said aloud suddenly.

Claude's eyes widened. He had overheard conversations between Leonie and Marianne, speaking of an unknown childhood friend he had not heard the name of. Seemed like Byleth was the one, he fit their descriptions.

Claude smiled softly. The two always seemed quite distant and somber ever since they joined the class. Leonie being the more aggressive one out of the two while Marianne was shy and meek, always either talking with only Leonie or the resident animals. Whenever the two had talked, which was quite often, they entered the conversation with smiles on their faces. But when it ended, their expressions were gloomy, reminiscing on what the other had said or what they their self said. For Claude, it was hard to approach the two. Leonie only talked with other people other than Marianne if it involved training, and Marianne found comfort with the animals or prayed in the church. To see them so full of life at the appearance of another person made him happy. They were his classmates after all. He was beginning to understand the affection Dimitri and Edelgard had for Byleth. The event where he protected Edelgard so selflessly was quite admiring. Now, he had the usually downcast students smiling brightly. In all honesty, he was becoming quite interested in the enigma that was Byleth.

Not in a homo sexually erotic way though... yet.

Dimitri, COMPLETELY unaware of the context behind the current scene, burned with total jealousy. Claude decided that it was enough, and faced Dimitri.

"Yo, they're just childhood friends man, chill out!"

He put an arm around Dimitri's shoulder.

"You still have a chance!"

Claude winked, a toothy smile present on his face.

Dimitri blinked, the dark aura now completely dissipating, unaware that his secret crush was found out. A blush formed on his face as he excitedly said,

"Really!?" He pumped both of his fists in a way that a girl would if she had been seated with her crush in class.

He turned to the trio.

Byleth was showing quite the smile to the young girls. It was full of happiness, warmth, and  
accentuated his very good looks.

Dimitri found the smile to be unbearable to look at for a long period of time, it was simply too much for his cursed eyes to see such a blessed sight.

Dimitri passed out on Claude's shoulder, blood trickling down his nose.

"Oh shit..."

**Dream:**

"Ugh! That idiot just passed out from a couple of people staring at him, how lame!"

Sothis was in an ethereal-like state. The outside world now completely hidden to her as she floated around in a completely black space, void of any objects. She hovered the only thing present in this "world", which was Byleth's body lying on the ground.

She sighed.

"Oh well, let's patch him up."

Knowing that this wasn't exactly a physical injury, she placed her hand on Byleth's forehead. It felt rather tense and cold, so she went to work. The same green energy that had protected him from the axe-wielding thief came out of her hand and disappeared travelling into Byleth's head. The action causing Byleth's head to warm up a bit and loosen up. She saw another energy that was white, also on the same spot where she poured hers. She smiled. It looks like he was getting outside help as well.

She felt Byleth's consciousness slither into reality, and knew that her job was now done. She yawned. For some reason, healing him had always tired her immensely, and she would always go into a deep sleep afterwards. This time was no different.

Her eyes opening as fast as it closed. She found herself in a rather vivid dream, one that she was aware of.

She did not expect to find Byleth to be kneeling on one leg, with a ring presented to her as he proposed.

"Sothis... Will you marry me, and become my wife?"

"H-Huh!?"

Her face flushed red as she briefly ignored the fact that this was a dream, heart practically bursting.

"W-What! Isn't this too sudden!?"

Byleth had a look of confusion cross his face.

"Weren't we planning this for quite some time..? I thought it was time to do it."

"R-Really!? Umm..!"

Sothis didn't know what to do, Byleth was proposing out of nowhere! She remembered the talk very recently about the idea of them marrying. Sure, they had "talked" about it, but it was just her completely denying it! Not to mention, this was way too quick! Where the heck did he even get that ring anyways!? It looked expensive, not to mention beautiful!

"I... I don't know! It's too sudden! And don't you know that you can't touch me? You tried many times before! And it didn't work! We could never work out!"

Sothis now becoming more emotionally distraught as she realized that it was impossible for her and Byleth to become lovers in any sense of the word. They couldn't touch each other, physical intimacy was out of the question. They could only gaze into each other's eyes lovingly or tell each other they love them. And quite frankly, it wasn't enough for Sothis. She wanted to be intimate with him, and be in his arms when he whispers, "I love you" to her as she is about to sleep. She cursed her own existence, so close to Byleth, yet so far.

She gasped as she felt Byleth's hand onto her's, a ring slipping into her ring finger as Byleth stood up. The warmth from his hands was so mysterious, it was unlike anything she's ever felt in her time with Byleth. It was different from the moments when Byleth had thanked her, complimented her, or something else that made her heart warm up in appreciation. This physical warmth made those other moments, while still amazing, pale in comparison.

"We resolved that long ago, didn't we?"

Sothis felt hope bloom in her chest as she looked at Byleth. He was there, smiling at her. That was enough to make her heart race.

"I want to be with you, Sothis, even more than we were before."

She saw Byleth close the distance between them as his eyes closed. Sothis, despite her grand power by being the progenitor god, felt her mind shut down as she moved her head forward, eyes closing as well.

Their lips touched.

Sothis' body was floating in the same void space as before, eyes closed but with a smile gracing her features.

**And done! I'll expand on how Sothis developed her feelings in the coming chapters, as well as the other girls. So look forward to that. Anyways, I'll release the next chapter in two days, maybe three if I'm busy. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Hilda, Rhea

**Yo, new chapter. Sorry it took so long. I don't think this chapter is very good, so expect a lot of edits in between, either way, enjoy and stay cool~**

**Note: The world building is about to finish, so expect to see some one on one fluff between Byleth and the rest of the girls with some story instances on the side**

**New Characters: Hilda, Rhea **

**WARNING: Some fluff, expository dialogue, cliches**

**10/4 EDIT: Hey, if you're checkin in for a new chap, sorry! been preparing for my trip, so it'll take a bit**

_**Late Introductions:**_

"Dude, wake up. You can't just pass out like that. And clean your face, your blood is about to get on my clothes."

Dimitri's eyes opened, finding himself on Claude's shoulder with his arm around him to keep him from falling.

"Darn... sorry, Claude."

Dimitri wiped his nose with his sleeve, staining it with some blood. It wasn't a large amount, just a little dab, so he didn't pay it any attention. Hopefully, Dedue wouldn't notice. Dimitri thanked Claude and got out of his arms, standing on his own now.

Claude sighed, and turned his sights back on the reunited trio. Still seemingly in their own world, he decided to call out to Byleth.

"Oi, newbie-sensei! You gonna introduce yourself to the rest of us or what?"

This caused everyone in the room to look at Claude with confusion. It also served to make Byleth flinch and grow nervous.

Marianne and Leonie saw his reaction and turned their heads over to Claude, and back to Byleth.

"Sensei..?"

"Wait... you're the new sensei, Byleth?" Leonie questioned.

Everyone in the room now had their attention on Byleth, who was pretty close to snapping under the amount of stares he had on himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find his voice.

He looked down, ashamed of his own shyness. He probably looked pathetic to them.

"_You need to get a hold of yourself." _Byleth said to himself.

_"They're with you again, you don't have to worry anymore. Change, for them."_

Clenching his fists, he let out a quiet,

"Yes..."

The students except for Marianne and Leonie blinked, why did the situation feel so tense?

That was weird.

Fortunately, due to the room's size, everyone was able to hear Byleth.

"Wow, really? He looks so young!"

"Right about our age, I'd say."

Before anyone could say anything else, the recognizable sound of the monastery bell rang. The students, now ignoring the fact that they had a new sensei, excitedly made their way to their dorms or the various facilities. One stayed by. She was sitting on a table farthest from the entrance, near the sensei's table. She seemed rather interested in the new face. Why? Well, he seemed like a potential candidate for her Hilda-Let-Me-Do-This-For-You Movement. That was one reason, at least.

Another one was that he got both Marianne and Leonie to smile wholeheartedly.

Sure, she got a smirk or two out of Leonie when they were training, but it never reached her eyes. It seemed as if she was never into it. In Marianne's case, she never seemed to smile unless it was with Leonie or talking with the various animals here. Those smiles, however, were never as bright as the one she had today when she looked at Byleth.

How good was he, if he got someone like Marianne to smile so beautifully like that?

Sure, seeing a friend she hasn't seen in a while would definitely get her worked up. But, there was something about Marianne's gaze on Byleth that indicated something more than just a rekindling of a long lost friendship.

She stood up and made her way over to the remaining people in the classroom.

"Haha! Man, you looked really nervous out there, sensei!" Claude said.

"Claude, it's not good to put someone on the spot like that." Dimitri had a stern look on his face, how dare he put Byleth under that much pressure?

"M-My bad... I'm not really good with crowds..."

"Still the same as ever, huh Byleth? How about we take a blast into the past and make sure we work on that confidence of yours." Leonie smirked.

"Sorry... I'll do better next time..." Byleth let out a nervous chuckle.

He glanced at the now empty room.

"B-But... Um... Where did the students go? I assume that was the bell, was I too late for introductions?"

"Haah... Seems so, looks like you'll have to do it another time. Everyone is occupied after class today, and there isn't a single student here who wouldn't take the opportunity to leave class early. You were supposed to come here earlier, though, what held you up?" Claude said with a bit of curiosity.

Byleth gained a look of embarrassment, but was willing to share.

"I passed out while walking here, and had to be taken care of..."

"Oh? And why did you pass out?"

Marianne, Leonie, and Dimitri all had worry etched on their faces. Their dear Byleth passed out? From what?

"F-From nervousness..."

His face now held shame at the pitiable reason for passing out. Claude couldn't help but laugh.

"You really are an interesting one, aren't you Byleth? Well, alri- oh. Hilda, you're still here?"

The five turned to Hilda, who had sneaked her way to the group.

"Hey, everyone! Just here to check out of new sensei." Hilda said energetically.

"I see, well let me introduce you two. Byleth, this is Hilda. Hilda, this is Byleth."

Hilda took a good look at Byleth's face, finding the glasses to be rather cute on him.

"_Hey, he's pretty cute. He might prove to be useful in the future..."_

Hilda gave him a cheerful smile and held her hand out to Byleth.

"Heya! Nice to meet you, Byleth-sensei!"

Byleth gained a light pink blush at being referred to as a sensei, but shook Hilda's hand nonetheless.

"N-nice to meet you, Hilda-san..."

After the brief exchange, Claude looked outside and saw the orange illumination coming from the sun setting. He turned to Byleth.

"Hey, you should probably report to Rhea that you weren't able to meet the houses. I doubt you're going to be able to get an extension on choosing one, though. We have a mock battle not too long from now, and we need you to pick the class you're representing."

Claude's face became serious.

"I'd really like it if you joined the Golden Deer. I know that you can handle your way around a sword, and you'd be a valuable asset. Not to mention, your childhood friends here are in the class. Whaddya say?"

Byleth pondered on the request, it was very enticing to have his friends in here, but...

"I'm sorry... I can't. I can't choose without giving the other houses the chance."

Marianne and Leonie both became disheartened. Were they not enough?

"Marianne and Leonie mean the world to me, and I'd love to teach the class they are in..."

The two in question blushed at the comment.

"...But, I can't bring myself to choose a class without giving the other ones a chance."

They were sad that it wasn't guaranteed that he'd join the class, but smiled at his thoughtulness nonetheless. He hasn't changed one bit.

Claude's face eased and he shrugged.

"Well, I tried. Anyways, Dimitri here is the leader of the Blue Lions, but we already told you that." Claude said with a toothy grin.

"Y-Yes, that is I. Blue Lions." Dimitri cleared his mouth and closed his eyes. He felt Byleth's eyes on him and he can't take another look without becoming flustered.

"..."

Claude stared at him amusingly.

Dimitri felt this and stared back at Claude, eyes open again.

"What?"

"Nothing, Mr. 'Blue Lions'. Anyways, just as a reminder, Edelgard is the leader of the Black Eagles, the last of the three classes. We should probably get going now, Rhea and the other senseis are probably waiting for you."

Byleth nodded and turned to his precious childhood friends,

"I'll see you two later, alright?"

He brought them both into a heartfelt hug, both growing red at first, but returned the gesture joyfully. Byleth smiled and walked out of the classroom, waving goodbye.

The two stared longingly at his retreating form, unaware of the looks they received from the remaining three.

"_Yup. This guy is just the living embodiment of butter." _Claude thought.

_**Choice:**_

"Welcome back, Byleth. Have you made your decision?" Rhea asked gently.

Byleth felt small under the gaze of Rhea. Despite her gentle appearance, there was an air of authority around her. It was rather overpowering, but Byleth's experience allowed him to stand his ground.

"N-no... I'm sorry. I couldn't make a decision."

Rhea raised an eyebrow, but smiled softly.

"That's okay... do you need more time?"

"Rhea-sama." Seteth spoke.

"Our mock battle starts in a few weeks, he must choose, otherwise one house will be left without a sensei. This will give them a chance to learn how to work as a team, and if he is not there, missions may prove to be fatal to our students."

Byleth felt rather guilty. His indecisiveness proved to be problematic in this situation. Who should he choose?

"Rhea. May I speak? I have something you should consider."

Byleth's eyes widened at the familiar, gruff voice.

"Jeralt? What is it?"

Jeralt sighed and put his hand to his head, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Well, you see... I knew this would happen. Kid's heart is pretty much made of gold. He can't choose one thing over the other if it resulted in another's sadness."

He walked over to Byleth's head and patted it, making him wince.

"Do you think he can just switch between classes? I know that he doesn't seem like much at a glance, just a regular old pretty boy." Jeralt joked.

"But... he's something else on the battlefield. Worked with plenty of mercenaries other than me, and worked with them well. At a glance, he can understand a person's strength and abilities on the spot, allowing to him to adapt on the fly. He's a war tactician, able to fight in the front lines while calling out orders. It's somethin' special." Jeralt gazed at Byleth proudly.

"If there was anyone I'd have confidence in teaching multiple classes and working with different personalities, it'd be him."

"D-Dad..." Byleth was surprised at how his father thought of his abilities. He knew that Jeralt regarded his abilites as special, but to see him so talk so highly and casually about it in front of an important figure made him rather emotional.

Rhea examined Jeralt for a moment and smiled.

"That is a perfectly sound idea, Jeralt. Manuela, Hanneman, do you think you two can interchange classes with him after a week or so? This arrangement may work out for us. While disorienting for the students at first, it may prove to be useful later on." Rhea regarded the two other senseis who were quietly watching the scene.

"I don't see a problem with that." Hanneman said.

"Ahuhu~ Of course! Anything for my sweet, little Byleth." Manuela winked.

"Good." Rhea looked back at Byleth, who looked relieved that he didn't have to choose a certain house.

"Unfortunately Byleth, you'll have to choose a house for the week of the mock battle. I can choose for you, but if you can make a decision, do so now."

Byleth, not under the pressure of having to choose a house anymore in the long term, felt more at ease. He said his answer with a newfound confidence,

"Golden Deer."

Rhea nodded.

"I see. You'll be with them until the day of the mock battle, and then switch with whoever decided to teach the Black Eagles."

"Thank you so much..!"

Byleth bowed and smiled gratefully at Rhea, causing her to stiffen slightly.

"_..?"_

Rhea regained her composure and returned his smile with one of her own gentle ones.

"It is no problem, you may take your leave and rest at your room."

Byleth nodded and exited the room along with Jeralt.

"We must be going too, Rhea-sama." Hanneman bowed along with Manuela, who quickened her pace to catch up with Byleth.

As they left the room, Rhea let out a breath.

"_What was that..?"_

Byleth was definitely the perfect vessel. The energy around him... There's no doubt about it.

She was successful, her mother... has returned.

Of course, there was no indication physically that she has. Rather, the physical aspect was overtaken by a young, shy boy, who held little to no resemblance to her mother.

No resemblance but...

Why was her heart racing so much? Her mother was back. Was the feeling of exhiliaration from that?

The shy, grateful smile that he showed earlier replayed in her mind.

Just what was it?

Why was this feeling taking over her?

She wanted her mother, not this...!

However, as much as she tried to deny it, the feeling dug itself a spot into Rhea's heart, one that had been only filled with love for her mother.

It was unfamiliar, yet, it was pleasant.

No.

She only held love for her mother.

Byleth was merely a pawn for her goal, a body for her mother to reside in. She shouldn't care about him so much.

The uneasiness on Byleth's face at telling her that he couldn't choose a class, the guiltiness he showed when he was indecisive.

Why!?

She felt uneasy with those expressions on his face.

She didn't want him to worry, to feel bad about anything.

She wanted... to protect him.

"Rhea-sama?"

Seteth noticed Rhea being abnormally quiet, which wasn't unlike her, but she looked a bit flushed. Was she sick?

"Seteth... you're dismissed for the day, take a good rest."

"Hm..? But..."

"I'm fine, Seteth, you needn't worry yourself. Please, spend time with Flayn."

Her voice held finality and held no room for discussion.

Seteth bowed and exited the room.

Rhea placed a hand on her racing heart, looking up.

"Why...?"

**Thanks for reading. Stay cool, new chap tomorrow.**

**10/4 EDIT: Hey, if you're checkin in for a new chap, sorry! been preparing for my trip, so it'll take a bit**


	8. Edelgard, Hubert

**Hey! New chapter. Sorry for another long wait, been getting ready for my trip to Japan! I'll still write there, don't worry!**

**Enjoy!**

**Edelgard-focused chapter.**

**Featured Characters: Edelgard, Hubert, Marianne (flashback)**

**EDITED 10/6: Fixed two years to five years**

**WARNING: Fluff, cliches**

**A Young Woman**

"Haaah..."

Edelgard sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. She was given terrible news.

Byleth did not choose the Black Eagles.

Yes, she understood that it was only until after the mock battle, and after that, he'd be able to teach the Black Eagles. This lasts only for a month before he had to go to the Blue Lions, and then back to Golden Deer.

It was too long of a wait... The two month intervals of changing classes back to hers was a foreseen torture Edelgard will have to endure. She wouldn't be able to watch him as he teaches, daydreaming about him all the while. Instead, she'd have to deal with Manuela's seductive teachings and Hanneman's bartering for crests, then it's back to her daily scheduled programming of Byleth.

It really didn't help that Manuela was delivering the news about the arrangement while talking about Byleth as if he were her lover.

As a tick mark grew on her face, recalling the event, her aide, Hubert, decided to speak.

"Edelgard-sama, is something wrong? You seem quite... irritable today."

"It's nothing, Hubert. Don't worry about it."

"Hm... If it's nothing, then surely you think of the new sensei as, 'nothing'?" A smirk befitting of Hubert's intimidating appearance appeared on his face.

"WHAT!? No! How dare you!"

"I am only saying how it is."

Edelgard gritted her teeth, how dare he spit those words from his mouth! Byleth, nothing!? He risked his damn life for her, Byleth is more than just nothing! He meant everything to her! Yeah, they didn't know each other for more than a month, but... he's already done so much.

A feeling of melancholy washed over Edelgard, as she softened her face into a saddened one, now looking downwards. She really just wanted to see him.

Hubert sighed, he didn't mean to make his lord feel this way. Who knew just one boy could affect her this much?

Honestly, it made him happy, though he would never show it outwardly, to see that her life had become much brighter compared to before. They were undergoing some... questionable things behind the scene. Ever since that day with the crests, Edelgard had always seemed very dull and restrictive about everything. Ambitious and driven, yet lacked the confidence. Overthinking, second guessing. She didn't indulge in the activities a young woman like her should be. She maintained a cold outside appearance, distancing herself from her classmates, eluding even the ever so cheerful Dorothea. It was like she alone would bear the burden, and she would stay alone, until the day she passed.

This was an everyday thought process, up until a month ago, when she came back from a briefing mission unharmed with a boy who would flinch at the slightest bit of human interaction. Her face lit up at the very mention of him. She'd retire to her dorm very early at the night, sketching the face of the same boy who had come back with her, leaving multiple pieces of crumpled up parchment that had the slightest of errors or blemishes. She ate sweets with Dorothea while scouting for any sign of him. Walked to places she'd never go to regularly before, just for a slight chance at an encounter.

Edelgard had found a new light, a new ray of sunshine in her life. Hope was the best word to describe it, and she embraced it, possessively, in fact.

Actually, she embraced it so firmly that she completely forgotten about everything they had planned up until today. Her 'Flame Emperor' suit remained unused, Those Who Slither in the Dark had been attempting to reach out to them to no avail, and Jeritza had been growing quite visibly irritated.

Dealing with an impatient Solon would not be easy, he might have to take issues into his own hand...

Hubert didn't mind, he shall follow Edelgard to the very end, he was her vassal, after all. What she wills, he wills, as well.

She had found a love, and he'd be happy to support her.  
He wondered if he'd be able to find such a love as virtuous as that?

Unfortunately, Hubert would probably have to look somewhere outside of the monastery, where no shy, kind-hearted boys named Byleth would reside in.

The sound of footsteps brought him back into reality, and he turned his head to the source.

"_It's him." _Hubert thought.

"G-Good afternoon..." Byleth shyly greeted.

Hubert said nothing, however he nodded in acknowledgement. He turned his head over to Edelgard, who had frozen in place at the voice of Byleth.

"By-... I-I mean, Byleth-sensei! What are you doing here?" Edelgard stammered.

Seeing her so surprised at his sudden appearance, he chuckled quietly.

"It's okay, Edelgard, you don't have to call me sensei..."

"But that is extremely disrespectful! I must!"

"N-no, really, it's fine. It makes me feel out of place with you and the other students... I want you to treat me as a friend."

Edelgard's heartbeat became slightly faster. He wanted her to treat him... casually?

"Is that... is that really okay?" Edelgard's eyes became filled with hope at the prospect of being able to treat him as a friend. While it was way far off from her frequent delusions, it was a step in the right direction.

"Of course... I thought we were already f-friends, to be honest..." Byleth replied.

"Nononononono!" Edelgard frantically waved her hands.

"I just thought you wouldn't accept me as one! I mean, I ran off the other day without a goodbye, I was terrible to you!"

"No... you showed me where the classes were, despite not being in good health, and for that, I thank you, Edelgard..." Byleth smiled gratefully at her, which caused a blush to form on Edelgard's cheeks.

"I-It was nothing..." Clutching her hands together, she looked at Byleth with an embarrassed, but faint smile. Eyelashes fluttering, she did nothing to correct his misunderstanding of why she ran away.

Hubert, observing the scene, felt himself almost gag at the sweetness. However, he couldn't help the slight tug of his lips.

"_Interesting..."_

"Umm... actually... I have another favor to a-ask of you, if you don't mind..." Byleth began.

As stars replaced the pupils in her eyes, she quickly rushed to Byleth, who recoiled at the closeness.

"Really? Of course! I'll do anything!"

"Hilda-san said that it was her turn to cook some food at the dining room, b-but also said that she was occupied with something else today, so she asked me for some help. I accepted, though I don't know where the room is... can you help me?"

"_That lazy little..." _Edelgard thought darkly. She shook her head before any signs of disdain showed.

"Of course! Actually, we're not too far from it, do you want me to show you where the volunteers cook?"

Byleth's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Thank you..!"

Edelgard's face flushed even further, who knew such a simple word of thanks brought her such joy?

"Edelgard-sama, I have duties I must attend to. I shall go, 'twas nice meeting you, Byleth."

Hubert walked away with his arms behind his back. One hand grabbing the other's wrist. Byleth, surprised at the sudden leave, blurted out quickly,

"A-ah! You too!" He followed it with a bow.

Edelgard, thankful that Hubert had read the situation, smiled.

"Now then, shall we go?"

Byleth nodded.

**Cooking with Him**

The crowded image of the dining hall entered Byleth's visuals. Even though it made him slightly anxious, he didn't worry. Everyone's attention was placed on the food.

Edelgard brought him over to the Head Chef, the ladder's eyes shifting right to left constantly, presumably for Hilda.

"_Where is she..?"_

"Head Chef, good afternoon." Edelgard greeted the woman.

"Ah, Edelgard, good afternoon. Say, have you seen Hilda recently? She was supposed to help out at the kitchen, yet I have not seen her today."

"I have not. Byleth here was told to take her place."

"Really? That Hilda..." She sighed.

"It can't be helped, I suppose. Come here, youngin'."

"Y-Yes!" Byleth stuttered, albeit eagerly. In reality, he couldn't wait to cook for the students here. When they were younger, Marianne was the main cook of their training sessions. She didn't do much in terms of physical training, but she honed her faith and cooked hot meals for both Leonie and him. Byleth felt bad about having her to all the cooking, it was hard work back then. He confronted Marianne by asking him to teach her everything she knew about it, and in return, he would do anything she'd ask from him. Turns out, Byleth had a unique talent in cooking, and he eventually cooked alongside Marianne. Their food was beloved among the various mercenaries they worked with, as well as Leonie and Jeralt, who both had the honor of eating it every day.

Before Marianne had left the village, she went up to Byleth, asking if the offer that he'd allow anything she'd ask of him was still available. He replied, "Of course.", slightly confused that she waited this long to ask him of the favor.

_"Kiss me on the cheek..." Marianne said, blushing madly. _

_"I-Is that really it?" Byleth replied, red tinting his cheeks as well. This was quite bold of her. _

_"Y-yes..." _

Byleth complied, leaving the two embarrassed for the rest of the day. Marianne being more delighted than embarrassed.

The fond memory causing Byleth to chuckle happily, as he walked toward the fireplace with the other cooking necessities.

"Right now, the students are asking for dessert, so your job is to make some blessed jelly. The morfis plums are over there, you think you can do that?"

Byleth nodded.

"Alright, I'll leave ya to it." The Head Chef said.

Making blessed jelly is extremely easy, so doing it in large quantities is no problem for Byleth. It required some faith magic to condense the plum into a gooey gel, and thankfully, Marianne taught him the basic ones for cooking.

Before Byleth could work on it, he felt the presence of another behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Edelgard, blushing slightly.

"Edelgard? O-Oh! Thank you for showing me where the dining hall is, I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem... Um..."

Edelgard twiddled with her fingers, poking her pointer fingers onto one another.

"Do... do you think I can help?"

Byleth blinked. She wanted to help?

"That's okay... b-but, wouldn't that trouble you? I don't want you to do anymore than what you've done for me..."

"No, I want to help, Byleth. You're still getting used to living here, so I want to be of use to you. You saved my life, this is the least I can do to repay you."

The sincere words coming from Edelgard caused Byleth to smile.

"Alright... I'll be in your care."

The rest of the afternoon proved that, it was in fact, Edelgard being in Byleth's care. She had little experience with cooking, and added salt instead of sugar to some of the jelly, much to the chagrin of a few vocal students. Byleth did not care one bit, actually taking the blame and the responsibility of a few, no, large amount of failures that Edelgard produced.

Edelgard felt extremely guilty that entire time, unable to speak out and take the blame on Byleth's behalf because of the humiliation in front of her crush. She tried a couple of times, failing as Byleth would always shush her with a smile. He really was too good for her, or so she thought.

It was now evening, the students were out content with their meals. Byleth was able to create more good ones than the bad ones that Edelgard produced, and cooked again for those who were served a salt-infested dessert.

In the midst of cleaning up, the Head Chef came up to them from behind the counter they worked on.

"Hey, good work out there, rookie. As for you, Edelgard, honestly, I expected better. Oh well. You can stay a little while longer or leave, cleaning is just about done." The Head Chef said, leaving.

Edelgard looked down in shame. Once again, Byleth had helped her in her time of need, and she could do nothing but watch. No wonder he didn't choose the Black Eagles.

She sighed, causing Byleth to look at her in worry.

"Edelgard... it's okay. When I first started out, I was the exact same. D-Don't beat yourself over it, my friend, Marianne, told me the same thing."

Edelgard, despite Byleth trying to cheer her up, perked at the mention of another student's name.

"Marianne? The Golden Deer student?"

"Y-yes. She was one of two friends that I knew before coming here, the other one being Leonie. We were separated five years ago due to some unfortunate circumstances... It was a miracle seeing them again, I couldn't help but want to go to Golden Deer because of them."

"I see..."

Edelgard immediately understood his reasoning behind wanting to go to Golden Deer first, even if she was the "ice queen", or as the students called her, she knows that the bonds of friendships can be strong. She felt a bit better, but... Unfortunately, she felt disheartened that another girl was already in his heart, and they both knew each other intimately. Byleth saw the look of discontent on her face, and continued trying to cheer her up.

"I-I'm sorry... Edelgard. The truth is, I wanted to teach the other classes too, knowing you were in the Black Eagles, but I didn't know how to express that to the archbishop. T-Thankfully, my father was able to convince her to allow me to teach the other classes, after a certain amount of time in one of them."

The look of discontent still on Edelgard's face as Byleth panicked. Did he say the wrong thing?

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Byleth. I really am grateful for it, however... It makes me feel sad that someone else knows you better than I do. Honestly, I really want to know more about you. I want to create some memories with you, like you have with those other girls... When you saved me that day, I couldn't help but-" Edelgard immediately smacked her mouth with one of her hands, inwardly scolding herself in embarrassment at the near confession.

She looked at Byleth who was in a state of awe, before slowly turning into a smile of understanding. Oh, snap. Did he find out!? Oh no! She wasn't ready!

She closed her eyes, wanting to be done with the rejection. However, the warm feeling of Byleth's hands grabbed onto one of her shoulders, causing her to open her eyes. The sight of Byleth's eyes peering into her own with a weight of friendly warmth.

"I... I feel the same, Edelgard. The way you battled that day, was... rather captivating. I... wanted to know more about you. I felt some sort of connection with you. Which was one reason why I hesitated on choosing a class. I-It was only until that I was allowed to teach multiple that I became less conflicted. I only chose Golden Deer because I wanted to spend time with those two again, but were it any different, I would've chosen you."

Edelgard's eyes widened at the revelation. She... was captivating? He... wanted to know her? He wanted to choose... her?

"And... while I can't change the past, that far at least..." Byleth whispered the last part.

"I can influence the future. So... e-even if we don't have any memories currently..."

Byleth paused.

"...We can create some together, starting now."

The overwhelming emotions caused Edelgard to temporarily reboot her brain. She stood still for a few moments, not able to meet eyes with Byleth, choosing to stare at his chest instead. The butterflies in the stomach, the beating of her heart quickening as she remembered everything with Byleth up until now. His kindness, the way he made her heart flutter with the smallest of actions. Every moment, every little thing...

Could she... really pursue love?

Was she allowed to be this happy?

The same flushing of her cheeks became much more dense, a deep red marring her pale, attractive face.

Edelgard escaped the boundaries of a schoolgirl crush, and it had turned into something else.

She had fallen in love with Byleth Eisner.

**And done! Sorry for those who want someone else other than Edelgard, don't worry! The upcoming chapters will feature them. Until next time!**


	9. Hilda

**Yo! Glad you guys like the fluff, here's another one. Enjoy!**

**NOTE: Edited a few stuff from last chapter near the end, reread that part if ya want.**

**Hilda-focused Chapter**

**Featured Characters: Hilda, some Sothis, Lysithea (Cameo, just a flashback, more to come in the next chap)**

**WARNING: Fluff, some Hurt/Comfort, even more Cliches**

**Ulterior Motives**

"Hilda."

"What is it, Claude-kun?"

"Help Byleth-sensei."

"I refuse."

"Why?"

"'Cause I don't feel like it."

Claude let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hilda, he's been doing a lot for us since he joined. Overcoming his shyness to teach us, and helping us when we ask for it. I heard you were making him do the cooking, which was assigned to you this month. Can't you help him just this once? He's overworking himself."

"But- ugh, whatever. Fine, I'll help him out today."

"Thanks, Hilda!"

Claude left the classroom, which was now empty of students, leaving Hilda to her own thoughts.

"_Aww...I gotta do homework later too..." _

Hilda let out a sigh of her own and stood up, making her way to the dining hall.

It wasn't like she WANTED him to overwork himself, but if he's so willing, then why not just let him do it? It's a win-win! She didn't have to do anymore work, and Byleth gets to cook for the students!

Yeah, she felt _kinda_ guilty. Especially when she spotted him during her midnight stroll after hours working on the lesson plans. It was a rest day, and he couldn't work on the lesson plans because he was cooking and cleaning in the dining hall the whole day.

Just what was his deal? Any other boy would've given up by now and went up to confront her, saying that they were done with doing her chores. They ALWAYS expected something in return, like a kiss or something, or whatever teenage hormone-infested boys like to ask their girlfriend to do whenever he did something good.

Needless to say, Hilda declined, saying that her beautiful, lovely smile should be enough for them.

Before they could really get angry at her, she did her best, and cutest puppy face. This, along with her overwhelming charm, swept the boys off their feet, and they became once again willing to do whatever she asked of them.

With Byleth, it's just, ask, and you shall receive. He didn't get anything for whatever he did, so why?

Surely, he had some ulterior motive, and his shyness was just an act to gain the favor of everyone around him.

Yet... Hilda didn't sense any of that.

Despite her appearance, attitude, personality, and... yeah, you get the point, she was really good at reading people, originating from the fact the she would just watch rather than do.

Every person that she came across with always had something to hide, even Claude, as good of a guy he is. There's something that just... doesn't seem right with him behind that easygoing smile. Dimitri too, there's a looming darkness over his friendly facade that is just threatening to break at the smallest reminder of whatever made him that way. And Edelgard... she was the worst out of the three. She was the most unfriendly one, cold and calculating. It was like she was looking deep into your soul and reading your every move. This came with a very sinister cloak that made Hilda feel uneasy.

But ever since Byleth became their sensei, that just stopped completely. She kept the frigidness of her personality to other people yet... any sinister energy she felt from her before just left. Gone. Like it never existed. She looked happy, actually. Come to think of it, the other day she saw her gushing with animated hearts hovering over her head! It was a complete one eighty, there was no more uneasiness whenever they crossed paths. Weird. Hilda actually felt like talking to her!

Where was she? Oh, yeah. Byleth.

He didn't seem to hide anything at all.

Despite the shyness, he was... bright, cheerful, and charismatic. It was similar to a human magnet, people flock to him, and he would always show whatever he felt at that moment, not hiding a thing. Most of the time, though, it was just his shyness.

Seriously, what the heck was his deal!? There's NO one in existence, that can be as pure as him!

_Everyone _had something to hide, no exceptions!

Hilda rubbed her temples as she felt a small migraine begin to form. She let out a groany, "Ugh." before she began to reminisce over the last month since Byleth came to the monastery.

It's been about two weeks since Byleth officially joined the Golden Deers as their temporary new sensei, which leaves about a week or two until their mock battle against the other classes. Despite the terrible start with getting taught by Byleth, as his stutter completely ruined some of the lessons on the first day, he brought it upon himself to fix it. Every day since then has been a slow, substantial improvement with his teachings, the stutters becoming less frequent as the days went on. Hilda actually found herself enjoying the lessons and whatnot, becoming more hands-on with the various activities. Stable duty was actually... surprisingly fun. Byleth taught Hilda how to approach one of the horses and feed them, doing so with finesse and delicacy. Turns out, Byleth is an exceptional sensei. He's proficient with every weapon that the students knew, even able to teach some of the mages a few dark spells. This garnered interest from Lysithea, who found Byleth to be an awesome teacher when it came to magic. He understood the theoretical aspects of it, and was able to compress the information so that it was easy for even non-mages to understand. Her eyes showed a childlike gleam whenever Byleth demonstrated a magic she never seen before. To gain any interest from the usually stubborn, lonewolf Lysithea without the use of sweets was an incredible feat. Even Hanneman, an experienced mage, was unable to gain any interest from her. In fact, she avoided him like the plague. With Byleth, it was quite the opposite. They've discussed a lot of theory crafting concerning magic and crests, causing them to become quite close in the two weeks, much to the displeasure of two certain childhood friends. Lysithea always blushed at his praise, especially after he followed it with a pat on her head. She didn't like being treated as child but for some reason, she tolerated it, sometimes showing an adorable pout after the action. Some may even say she developed a crush on him. Though, even if she did, Hilda doubted that she'd ever admit to that. Still, with his constantly improving teaching and his shy but kind, non-strict personality, he gained quite the standing among the students.

Wow, she's giving this a lot of thought, huh?

So much so, that she already reached the dining hall.

While inside, she was immediately bombarded with invitations to eat. She declined them with a smile, letting them know that she was here to help someone. Going right through them, she spotted Byleth near the fireplace, creating some of the jelly that had gained a lot of popularity ever since he started helping out. She walked over to his spot, waving one hand.

"Byleth-sensei!" Hilda called out.

He didn't acknowledge her, which caused Hilda to pout a bit.

Walking over to where he was a bit angrily, she was about to chastise him for not noticing her until she got a good look at his appearance.

He looked terrible, it was almost like he was about to pass out at any moment. The bags under his eyes were much darker and deeper than they were a few days ago. His movements were quite sluggish, and the faith magic he emitted onto the plums were laughable at best.

A spike of guilt impaled Hilda's heart. He was suffering this much? She saw the Head Chef walking over to him.

"Sensei, please, go rest, you've done enough!"

"I-I... I can't..." Byleth replied, the voice sounded hoarse and tired. He looked perfectly fine earlier today, with the exception of his eyebags. What happened?

"Stop forcing yourself! You need to go rest!"

"No... I can't... I can't let my students down..."

In truth, Byleth was destroyed mentally after his very first day of teaching. He was ashamed at his pathetic performance. The disappointed looks that came from some of the students made him feel terrible. Marianne and Leonie comforted him, yet despite that he still felt that they were disappointed in him too. This was never the case, but Byleth was too blinded by his self-deprecation.

He took it upon himself to improve, going through multiple sleepless nights writing lesson plans, reciting them and perfecting the gaps. The Sothis' protests did not stop him, and she couldn't do anything except try to rejuvenate him during his power naps. She looked on with a heavy heart, knowing that she couldn't do anything.

The Head Chef was about to snap. Her favorite worker was about to work himself to death, and she couldn't let him do that.

She grabbed both of his shoulders, and turned his body to her.

"Stop it! Please! Don't you know that what you're doing hurts not only you, but the ones who care about you as well!?"

Byleth's eyes widened.

"B-But..."

The Head Chef brought him into a hug.

"But nothing! You're the hardest worker I know, sensei. Seeing you do this to yourself, hurts me as well. So, please..."

She separated from their hug and looked at him, tears threatening to fall out of her face. A huge indication that she held appreciation and cared for him.

"I..."

"She's right, you know."

The duo turned to Hilda, who watched the entire scene with a guilty conscience. For some reason, it really hurt her to see him this way. She stood right in front of them, near the counter.

"Byleth-sensei... I've seen how hard you try for us. I admit, it didn't exactly start off great, but you've improved immensely. You did it, for us. I never really liked class in general, finding it tedious and all. However, ever since you came, I've been enjoying it... a lot."

Hilda turned around and smiled.

"Right, guys?"

Raphael, a frequent visitor of the dining hall and one of Byleth's Golden Deer students, let out a booming, "Yeah!" while raising his fist in the air. There were other Golden Deer students beside him, all male, sharing their agreement.

"Sensei is so rad!"

"You're the best, sensei!"

Even though they were asked by Hilda to help with this, they really did agree that Byleth was an outstanding sensei. He knew exactly what to say to them whenever they went to him for advice, even if it wasn't about the class and involved social troubles like connecting with a girl.

Byleth was speechless. Was he really a good sensei to them?

"Yes. You idiot. I keep saying so! Gah! Why do I even put up with you..." Sothis said.

The comment caused Byleth's tired lips to curve into smile.

"_I see..."_

Now understanding that his students didn't know him as a failure, he let the fatigue carry his body, falling down to the counter.

Hilda came just in time to catch his head, cradling his head to her stomach. They were in a somewhat awkward and uncomfortable position, but Hilda didn't mind.

"H-Hilda...?" Byleth let out a tired, quiet voice.

"Shhh... It's okay, sensei. Rest, now."

She ran her hand through his hair. The silky, soft dark blue locks causing her hands to tingle.

"_S-Soft_..."

It was at that moment that Byleth fell into a dreamless, comfortable sleep.

Hilda looked at him with a gentle expression, causing the boys not named Raphael to blush. It was different from her cute, yet forced smiles that she showed them all the time. Who knew Hilda could show something like that?

"Mm, he's too heavy for a delicate flower like me. Boys, can you bring him to the infirmary? I'll be right behind you." She winked.

A collective, "Yes Hilda!" later, and they were gone.

About to follow them, she was stopped by a hand pinching her cheek.

"So... care to tell me where the HELL you've been these past couple of weeks?" The Head Chef sent a death glare to Hilda, causing her to shiver.

"Uhh..."

"As soon as sensei is able to help us again, I am making you work with him. Got. That?"

"Yes!"

Hilda, scared out of her mind, accepted.

"Good! Now go take care of him." The Head Chef smiled. A sickly sweet smile that held nothing but malice and contempt for the girl in front of her.

Running to the infirmary, Hilda began to think that the Head Chef was someone sent by the Goddesses to punish her laziness.

The Head Chef shook her head and looked over to the growing line of students waiting for food. Apparently, they watched the entire thing.

"MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!"

**A Promise Broken, A Promise Made**

Byleth woke up in a familiar pile of white sheets. Sitting up, he saw that he was in a bed next to some white curtains. The infirmary, he presumed. His noticed that his glasses were off, and while he could see without them, it helped while reading.

Glancing around, he saw that his glasses sat on tabletop drawer next to the bed. He grabbed them and put them on, blinking a bit to get used to the surrounding white brightness. It was at this point that he drew a sullen look on his face, remembering his earlier predicament.

"_Sothis?"_

"..."

Was she-

"I'm mad." Sothis said.

"_I-I'm sorry_..."

"No. You promised."

"_I-I didn't mean to_-"

"I know you didn't, but that doesn't make it any better."

Byleth shut his mental mouth. No words can describe how sorry he was, but he knew Sothis suffered much more than he did. She had to deal with his unhealthy all-nighters while he broke down his own body by overworking. If he was in Sothis' position, he'd feel the exact same.

...She can hear you, man.

"It hurt. Really badly."

Sothis frowned.

"Seeing you overwork yourself with little to no rest... constantly pushing yourself for other people... I hate it."

Byleth stayed silent as Sothis continued.

"I said before that I hate pain. I have no way of feeling it physically, but you and I are one. Both of our hearts are connected. When your heart aches... mine does too, so what do you think happens when combined with that, my heart hurts at seeing the one I love hurting themselves?"

Byleth couldn't say or do anything at this point, he could only let Sothis share her grief.

"Byleth, while I love how selfless you are, please take care of yourself too. Sometimes, the most gruesome of physical torture can't hold a candle to the pain of seeing someone you love hurt."

Suddenly, Byleth found the strength to speak.

"_I... I understand, Sothis. I'd rather go through those than ever seeing you get hurt..."_

"I know, that's what I love about you."

Sothis smiled.

"_Do you think... you can forgive me? I promise that-"_

"No, I can't forgive you. You broke our promise."

A very sad look crossed Byleth's face. He really screwed up this time.

"However... I will forgive you, if you make a new promise with me, and swear to me that you will not break this one."

A hopeful Byleth looked wide-eyed at the floating Sothis.

"_I-I swear! I'll promise anything_!"Byleth gave Sothis a look of burning determination, causing the ladder to blush slightly.

"If that's the case..."

Byleth paid close attention, making sure not to miss what she was about to say.

"Then find a way to get myself a physical body. Promise me that, Byleth."

Byleth's determined gaze transitioned into a confused one.

"_H-Huh? You know, I was already going to do that, even if you didn't ask directly..."_

_"_O-Oh..."

Sothis gained an embarrassed look. He was? Well, this is Byleth we're talking about after all. He'd probably try to find a way into space if it meant saving some live cattle. She should've known. Wait, didn't they have a conversation about getting her one? She must've forgotten... Ugh, that stupid dream! Well, stupid as in horribly timed.

Honestly, though? It was really nice.

TOO nice.

Sothis' fingers went up to her lips as a feeling of yearning bubbled in her chest. She shook her head.

"Well, I forgive you then. Hmph! You better not break this promise if you know what's good for you!"

"_Thank you, Sothis... I won't let you down. I'll find a way, and once I do... I'll never let you go."_

A red-faced Sothis made a measly attempt to stay cool.

"T-That better be another promise you're willing to keep!"

"_O-Of course_... _Actually, how are you awake? Wasn't I..."_

_"_I let you sleep in. I didn't have to do anything other than speed up the process of getting rid of that sleep deprivation. Tsk tsk tsk, don't underestimate me!"

Just as Byleth was about to respond, he heard the sound of the door opening, causing him to go quiet.

"Byleth-sensei?" The voice of Hilda echoed through the room.

"H-Hilda... I'm over here."

Byleth was resting on the bed at the very far left, near the windows, meaning he was farthest from the entrance and / or exit.

Hilda walked over to the end of room, finding the lavendar smell of the room to be somewhat pleasant. The room wasn't too large, but held enough beds for the unfortunate few that had to spar with the leaders of their class. The white curtains and the white bedding gave it a pretty average look, though, it had a weird appeal to it.

She saw Byleth resting on the very last bed, looking much better than he did before. The bags under his eyes remained, but were much lighter now, barely visible. His glasses were on, helping with hiding the small imperfections. He held a smile at the sight of Hilda, the one who helped orchestrate the Make-Sensei-Feel-Better cheers.

Hilda blushed at the smile. It was authentic and held only happiness at seeing her. It lacked the spite Hilda somewhat expected for making him do all this work.

"Hello, Hilda, did you need something?" Byleth asked.

While Hilda understood that he didn't mean it in the way she was thinking, she still felt the same guilt come back at the possible negative connotation of the question.

"Hi, Byleth-sensei. No, you've already done enough. I'm just here to check on you, and..."

She paused slightly, finding difficulty in saying the next sentence about to come out of her mouth. Ugh! This is all your fault, sensei!

"...and here to tell you that I'll be cooking from now on, to make up for you having to do it."

Hilda cringed, and she cringed _hard. _She sucked it up, as she felt that her sensei deserved at least THIS much.

"Hmm? Are you sure?" Byleth tilted his head to the side, causing Hilda to almost squeal out loud. WHAT THE HECK!? That was so cuuuuuute!

Hilda cleared her throat.

"Y-Yes. You've already done so much for us, sensei. Plus, you weren't even supposed to be doing it in the first place, I made you do it. I can't help but feel bad about it. I mean, you even passed out!"

Hilda turned away and looked outside the windows, feeling somewhat embarrassed. It was the first time she explained that she was going to do something for someone else.

"I see... in that case, I-I have an offer."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Let me cook with you."

Huh? He wanted to cook with her?

Hilda looked at Byleth, the same smile present on his face.

"Wait, why? Didn't you hate having to cook for me?"

"N-No, I quite liked it. It made me feel good that I was being relied on, in all honesty."

"Byleth-sensei, I wasn't relying on you the way you think I was. I was using you to do things I didn't want to do."

"I-It doesn't really matter."

"Then why?"

Byleth turned his sights downwards to the bedsheets.

"Because... I love cooking for the students."

Hilda raised an eyebrow. He loves cooking for the students? Is that it?

"A-After the first day of teaching, I felt... horrible. I failed, terribly. Not only did I fail you and the other students as a teacher, I failed myself."

"_He really was beating himself over it, huh?" _Hilda thought. Byleth's usual stutter began to diminish as he revealed his feelings over the matter.

"Cooking... helped me. It was a way to cope with my earlier failure. When I saw the students eat my cooking happily it made me feel like... I could do something for them. Make up for the fact that my teaching was subpar."

"But sensei, you've improved so much! Everyone loves you now!"

"Even so, I felt that despite my improvement, my failure set a bad precedent for you and them. So I did everything I could to make sure I never let you all down again."

He put a hand behind the back of his head, rubbing it sheepishly.

"I still pushed my body a bit too far. I'm sure if this got out, Leonie and Marianne will definitely come hunting for me. I guess I still have to mention it, I don't want to hide anything from them."

Byleth let out a nervous laugh at the thought, but continued talking.

"Thank you, Hilda. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be wallowing in my self-loathing right now, hurting the ones I care about all the while. I don't want that, I only want them to be happy..."

His hands gripped the bed sheets tightly at the reminder that he broke his promise to Sothis. He needed to make sure that it'd never happen again.

Sothis looked on with a pout.

"You better..."

Byleth looked up at Hilda to see her mouth slightly agape with what he thought was a weirded out expression.

"Ah, sorry! I-I didn't mean to ramble on like that..."

Hilda, meanwhile, was amazed.

He was thanking her? For making him do what she was supposed to do? How idiotic was that?

And yet, it didn't feel like he was being an idiot. He was just being himself. A person that is honestly too good for the unfair world that surrounded him.

He worked his body to undeniable exhaustion, and he was still worrying about others. It's no wonder that Marianne and Leonie adored him so much. She didn't sense a fib or lie the entire time they were talking. It came from the heart.

Maybe, just maybe, people as pure as him did exist?

Actually...

Was he the one she was looking for?

He fit the criteria, good-looking, smart, did things for her...

He was also quite bluntly, the most amazing person she'd ever met.

In a world dominated by selfish nobles, men who only looked for attractive brides that led to toxic and forced marriages...

She found an anomaly with Byleth.

She saw none of that evil in him. He was simply a young man, whose heart lived for the people he loved.

Hilda graced him with a genuine smile that she had only ever shown to her brother, Holst.

"It's okay, sensei. It was nice hearing your side of things. You're too kind for your own good. People will learn to exploit that, ya know? Anyways, I accept your offer. I didn't want to do things alone anyway, hehe~."

Byleth returned the smile.

A loud shout came from outside, scaring the both of them.

"BYLETH!"

The two knew the voice well. it was Leonie, and she was closing in on them fast.

Hilda burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA! That's too rich!"

She wiped one eye with a finger.

"Welp! See you at the dining hall, sensei!"

"Wa-Wait!"

**First**

**One day later...**

Hilda stood before the menacing set of cooking tools. She didn't know what to do. She never cooked before!

Thankfully, Byleth was right beside her. He's perfectly healthy now, having had a long rest after the nonviolent scolding that Leonie subjected him to.

"What's wrong, Hilda?" Byleth asked her worryingly.

"I don't know how to cook, Byleth-sensei."

"I-In that case, want me to teach you?"

Hilda watched Byleth with curious eyes.

"Really? Where will we even begin?"

Byleth pondered on what he should teach her for a bit before he came across a good idea.

"I-I don't know if I can teach you much at the moment, today is going to be busy. B-but I'll show you how to mold the blessed jelly. That's our responsibility for the rest of the week. After that, I'll try to teach you some s-stuff."

"Oh, you mean the jelly everyone keeps talking about? So you're the one in charge of that..."

"I-It's nothing much! I owe it to Mari, she taught me a lot about it."

"Mmm~ I see." Hilda ignored the weird feeling in her stomach at Byleth calling Marianne 'Mari', and paid attention to Byleth's demonstration.

It looked simple enough. She didn't know faith magic, but her job was to add a bit of sugar, mold the condensed plum with enough pressure so that it coagulates, then shape it into a rectangular shape for simple consumption. Easy, right?

Wrong.

She couldn't bring herself to touch the gooey mess. It was cold, slimy, and bleh! She didn't like the feeling on the hands.

"Sensei, I don't think I can do it... It's too icky!"

A disgusted look formed on her face at the sight of the gelatinous substance falling to the floor, making a 'splat' sound.

"I-I'm sorry, Hilda, do you want me to teach you the spell instead? I'll mold it so you don't h-have to."

Hilda didn't have any talent in magic or knew any, but these spells were extremely simple, in both learning to do it and execution.

"Actually, no, never mind. I'll do at least this much!" Her sensei's kindness reminded her why she was here, not being a lazy bum, giving her the resolve to at least try.

The slimy material felt absolutely wretched in her hands. But after squeezing it a bit, it felt a bit more firm and solid, making the action just a bit more appealing.

Hilda placed the product on a plate, watching it with a proud smile.

"There we go!"

The Head Chef came over and examined the gel, finding it to be inadequate.

"Redo, you ruined the structure of the jelly. Remember to add the sugar before squeezing it. You're going to need to perfect this in an hour, it's almost time for them to come in and eat. I'll leave it to you, sensei." She nodded to Byleth before going back to her station, leaving a gloomy Hilda.

"Aww..."

"It's okay, Hilda, I'm h-here for you."

"I know, thanks, sensei."

Unfortunately, the sugar made it much harder to get the form right, and Hilda couldn't keep the gel in her hands for more than ten seconds without needing a one minute break, ruining the structure of the jellies.

"This isn't working out..."

Hilda groaned.

"If only there was a way for me to be used to this..." She said.

Byleth saw that she was in a difficult situation, so he opted in to help.

"I-I have an idea... try it again, I'll guide you this time."

"Guide? Hmm... okay."

Hilda picked up the slimy substance, pressing onto it with a bit of pressure. This lasted for about nine seconds before she could take no more.

Just as she was about to unhand the gel, she felt Byleth behind her back as both his arms snaked around her body, grabbing Hilda's hands with his own.

"_Huh?"_

What... WHAT WAS HE DOING!?

Don't tell her that Byleth kept this good guy act in order to get into her pants!

She tried to complain, but as Byleth pressed his body against hers, she felt her voice die in her mouth.

She sensed no bad intentions.

It was just him helping her mold the jelly.

She saw his hands move with her own, bending and shaping the jelly to perfection.

He made the extra effort to make sure that his wouldn't crush her much smaller, female ones.

His hands were gentle and delicate, just like him.

The disgusting and cold feeling of the gel completely vanished, replaced with Byleth's warmth and comfort.

She leaned into his chest and stared right at him.

He had rested his head onto her left shoulder, causing their cheeks to be right next to each other. He focused on the molding with his lips curved upward, unaware of Hilda's staring.

Her cheeks gained a red tint at the devilishly handsome, yet tender smile.

His body was just so... warm.

It's as if one would be guaranteed a life filled with happiness, protection, and love if they were to stay in his arms.

"_Byleth-sensei... you're taking all of Hilda-chan's firsts, you meanie..._"

No man had ever hugged her like this. No man had ever done stuff for her without an ulterior motive. No man had ever interested her this much.

And most importantly, no man caused her face to be so hot.

A mysterious feeling shocked her entire body, it was unlike anything she has ever felt.

The feeling was so exotic and unfamiliar.

So inviting and beguiling that,

Hilda let herself fall for the man before her.

She found the person she was looking for.

"And, done! Y-You did great Hilda!"

Hilda snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her now cold hands, a rectangular jelly dessert on top of it. She ignored the sliminess that her hands held, missing the feeling of Byleth's warm body pressed against her. She desired it.

"Again..." She said in a low tone.

"A-Are you sure? That was mostly just you, I only helped with your movement..."

"Please, again..."

"If t-that's what you want."

The same feeling of warmth overcame Hilda as they worked on a new batch. She let out a sigh of content, looking at the sight of their connected hands with a pretty smile.

"_I should've helped him earlier..."_

**Done! Sorry if that was too cheesy and rushed. Honestly, I really like Hilda, her supports with Marianne are awesome and I really like that behind that laziness she's actually just a sweet, kind girl. Thanks for reading! Lysithea prob next, and that'll take care of the Golden Deer women first. Don't worry, they'll still get their screentime. Till the next chap!**


	10. Hilda, Lysithea

**'Sup! Sorry for bein so late, once again, twas busy with some work. (so i can get my friends some damn souvenirs from Japan) Here's your new fluff filled chapter, featuring Lysithea and Hilda!**

**Featured Characters: Hilda, Lysithea**

**EDIT 10/15/2019: Sorry peeps, life came up (in a good way, dw!), so I've been occupied. Chapter will be up in approx. 2-3 days. Thank you so much for your support!**

**EDIT: 10/28/19 So by days, I meant weeks...**

**WARNING: Fluff, Cliches, Generic explanation of magic **

**Falling Harder**

"_This is bad_." Hilda thought.

"_Really bad_."

Hilda looked down at her slime-covered hands with a flushed face. She isn't really affected by the disgusting feeling anymore, having gotten used to it after a week. So... what was bad, exactly?

Well, fact of the matter is, it's pretty much impossible for the poor girl to even take a glance at her sensei without going totally red.

Sure, she understood what her feelings were a week ago, when they started cooking together. Byleth made sure to (unknowingly) make her fall for him.

However...

Every single day since then, Byleth gave her a new reason to like him even more than she already did. The amount of time spent together in the kitchen caused them to become quite close, much to her delight. He's humble, caring, kind, selfless... and many other words that didn't involve his appearance.

And oh GODDESS his appearance... don't get her started on that.

Under all that shyness stood a young man who trained everyday of his life up until now.

That saggy, sleeved clothing he wore hid all the good stuff. Seriously.

He's surprisingly muscular, not as muscular as his father, but he had a body that was extremely well toned and showed that he was indeed a mercenary. A mercenary who got work DONE. Oh man, she can feel herself getting hot over how strong his arms felt hugging her body, and the way that his hidden abdominals just pressed against her back...

Additionally, under all of that muscle and training, his face held none of that battle craze and roughness. Instead, it settled for a more gentle, farmboy type of face. One that held a delicate, yet intense gaze that can make Hilda just feel weak at her knees.

Like, what the heck, sensei!? Stop it! Stop giving new meaning to the word, "perfection"!  
His shyness, while it may be a problem for some, only made him cuter, damn it!

She sent a glance to the person that got her so riled up. He was currently compressing another plum. Her face took notice of the gentle gaze he sent towards the plums, as if he was working with a young toddler. That little comparison alone brought a relatively explicit thought to her mind.

For some reason, his eyes widened ever so slightly before he turned over to Hilda, catching her staring. Apparently, he had sensed her stare and sent a smile her way just in case if she still felt uneasy working with the slime.

Hilda's cheeks glowed a darker red before she looked back down at her own working space. A smile now forming as she went into a very giddy mood.

"_Love~ Love him love him... looove!_"

She placed both of her hands onto her cheeks, gushing inwardly.

"_I love hiiiiiiim! Aaah! I'm such a girl~~~"_

A fit of quiet feminine giggles escaped her mouth as she continued her inner meltdown. It seems like the kitchen heat had cause our local maiden to become rather parched.

"Excuse me, madame? I'd like one of your blessed jellies, please."

Hilda snapped out of whatever daydream she was having and turned her attention towards the priest in front of him. Still a bit flushed, she nodded with a smile and proceeded to reach over to one of the finished jellies. She grabbed the plate, and placed it on his side of the counter. Bowing, she muttered a quiet, "Enjoy" and started working on the other jellies that Byleth had passed over.

The priest grabbed it and walked off without saying thank you. He was quite stunned by Hilda's beauty.

"_O Goddess, forgive this sinful man."_

The rest of the day proved to be a relatively easy one. Hilda was a surprisingly fast and hard worker, despite her personality. She essentially 'ate' up what Byleth taught her in terms of simple cooking techniques and other miscellanous kitchen things, as well as some terminology. Truthfully, if she applied herself, she could be one of the hardest working people here. But for her, that's just too troublesome, she's really only doing this to spend time with Byleth-sensei anyways.

Hilda stretched after the long day, yawning.

"Haaah, I'm so tired!"

She blinked a few times before looking over to her sensei, who was in the middle of saying his goodbyes to the rest of the kitchen staff before he left. After doing so, he walked over to Hilda standing next to one of the exits.

"Shall we go?" Byleth said.

She nodded, eyes going to the corners of her eyes before she can take a good look at her sweat-drenched sensei. After the first day of working together, they made it a habit of walking back to her dorm, offered by Byleth himself. This was both a great opportunity for Hilda, as well as extreme torture. Walking back to her dorm room with the boy she liked at night? How romantic! Then again, she's really too embarrassed to say anything on their way back. They usually walked together under a somewhat deafening silence with the occassional "Are you cold?" or "Are you okay?" from Byleth. She always responded in the positive, but said nothing afterwards.

Wasn't she one of the more confident girls in the monastery? She took huge pride in that, and for Byleth to just swoop in and knock that confidence down irritated her. In a good way.

Despite the silence though, it was mildly comfortable. Honestly, she was kind of glad that Byleth wasn't very talkative. It made him a good listener and it spoke volumes about his humble nature. But that wasn't what she wanted right now, she wanted to talk! If she doesn't make a move now, he'll be seduced by that no good Dorothea from the Black Eagles!

"S-Sensei..." She said quietly.

...What the hell was that? She was being such a meek little girl! Gosh, why was this so hard!? It's fine whenever they were in the kitchen surrounded by other people, but as soon as they're alone, saying literally anything was a struggle!

"_Come on, me!_"

"What is it, Hilda?"

"Um... thank you for helping me out at the kitchen."

Byleth smiled, a bit relieved that she had said something. To be honest, the silence since he offered to walk her back everyday was a bit saddening. He thought that maybe he creeped her out with the offer, but it seems like she was just too tired to say anything.

"It's no problem, Hilda. To tell you the truth, I love working with you."

Hilda's mouth gaped slightly as she looked at Byleth, who was still looking forward.

"You do?"

"Mhm."

Hilda blushed lightly as they continued walking. Who knew that Byleth enjoyed being with her?

"I love working with you too, sensei..."

"I'm glad."

A smile graced her features at the small but significant conversation. Maybe they'll be able to continue this arrangement?

But... it was too late. Just one more week until their mock battle, and he'll have to go to the Black Eagles afterwards. A forlorn expression appeared on her face as they reached her room. At least the atmosphere was nice. Walking under the stars, while a beautiful, night sky shined on the monastery. Too bad she couldn't enjoy it.

"Good night, sensei." Hilda said sadly. Her arm reached for the door handle slowly. A part of her mind said to stay out here with him, so that they could spend a little more time together.

"...Hilda? Are you okay?" Byleth questioned, seeing her sorrowful expression.

Hilda let her hand hover over the door handle, choosing between being ambiguous about her feelings or expressing them like a mature adult. Thankfully, she chose the latter.

"It's just... We don't have much time together left..."

"W-What do you mean we don't have much time together?"

Hilda sighed as she turned around.

"Sensei, you're going to the Black Eagles after the mock battle, remember? After that, we won't be able to see each other much..."

Byleth tilted his head.

"Won't we still see each other in the dining hall?"

"_Wait..."_

Hilda's eyes widened as she realized it herself. Sure, she wouldn't be able to get taught by him specifically during class, but when they were cooking... they'll be able to see each other every day.

This brings them to their next problem. Her cooking duty ends after the mock battle anyways, so the point was moot. It didn't matter in the end.

"But someone else will replace me next month, I won't be able to cook..."

"O-Oh, don't worry about that. I volunteered to take over that duty for the students. So if you ever want to come cook with me, you can. I'll be there for as long as I don't burn out." He chuckled at his own joke, becoming short lived as Sothis reprimanded him to the side, thinking the joke was rather distasteful.  
It did cause Hilda to gain an amused smile, however. Didn't this guy work too much? Geez, looks like she'll have to keep an eye on him so he won't overwork himself again.

Hilda's eyes glimmered with a touch of hope and affection. She'll be able to stay with him... that's definitely a win in her book.

"You did? I really underestimated you. But wouldn't you want to work with someone else? It might get kind of boring with just me..."

"No it wouldn't Hilda, that I can assure you. Working with you has been a blessing, and I always look forward to our sessions together."

Byleth smiled at her.

"B-Besides, we made a promise, didn't we? I promised that I'll teach you more about cooking."

Hilda's heart raced at the nonchalant but meaningful statement. This guy really knew what to say, didn't he?

"You're really unfair, sensei. You can't just keep doing this."

"H-Huh?" Byleth stuttered.

She let out a laugh, a cute, genuine one that caused Byleth to blush lightly. The sound was almost angelic to him.

"Thank you for cheering me up."

Hilda winked. A blush adorning her face as she prepared herself for what she was about to say.

"Sensei. I've never really tried to work for something I wanted, letting others do it for me instead. But this time, I think I will have to do it alone."

She took in a deep breath as Byleth sent her a confused look.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make you fall for me." Hilda declared. She turned around, opening the door handle she hovered just a minute ago, entering the room, and closing it quickly. Leaving a dumbfounded Byleth outside her door.

Inside her room, she leaned on the door, sliding down slowly as her hands reached to cover her scarlet face. She let out a small whimper, extremely embarrassed about what she had just said to Byleth.

"You can't keep giving me all of these reasons to keep loving you, sensei... What will I do when I can't control it?"

She considered writing a letter to her brother, wanting to tell him that she had finally found the one for her. Maybe he'll come visit to see who she was talking about?

On the way to the Golden Deer classroom to work on lesson plans, Byleth couldn't help but be in wonder. She was going to make him fall for her?

...Wasn't that going to hurt?

"Moron." Sothis deadpanned.

**For the Future**

Lysithea was in the library sitting on a chair, reading a book on the theoreticals of magic. She was interested in a specific section of the book, a part that explained various execution methods on the spell she's currently working on. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she took in the information in large doses, wanting to make sure practice with her new spell went as planned. She read it several times, but could never get the runes in the correct alignment.

Lysithea heard the the chair next to her become occupied and she turned her head to see who it was.

She groaned inwardly. Not her, please...

"Hiya, Lysithea!"

"Hi." She replied stoically.

"Aww, come on! Don't be so mean, aren't we friends?"

"I refuse to talk, much less be _friends_, with someone who requires others to do their work for them."

Hilda pouted.

"Gosh, that's so mean! I don't even do that anymore!"

"Oh really? Then why is Byleth-sensei still in the kitchen with you?"

A smug look crossed Hilda's features as she explained.

"I'll have you know that Byleth-sensei WANTED to work with me, teehee!"

Lysithea clicked her tongue. Poor guy.

"Whatever. What are you even doing here anyways? I don't really see you in the library often."

"...!"

Lysithea raised an eyebrow at her sudden shyness and silence. She looked at her side of the table and saw that she had a book in front of her.

Starter Guide to Cooking

"...Cooking? Interesting. I've never seen you read a book before though, why the sudden change?" She questioned, a bit confused at the red tint that Hilda had on her cheeks.

"I wanted to impress sensei..."

"Impress him? Why?"

"W-Well..."

Hilda twirled one of her twintails in embarrassment. Lysithea immediately caught on.

"You like him? Seriously? How childish!"

Lysithea gained a mirthful smirk as Hilda frowned.

"Childish? What do you mean childish!? This is pure, mature love we're talking about!"

"Please, he's our sensei! Crushing on your teacher is what kids do!"

"Oh reeeeally? What about you, Ms. 'I don't mind the praise, keep it coming, sensei!'"

It was Lysithea's turn to blush and frown.

"W-What! You heard that?"

"The whole class did. Every. Single. Time. You don't notice how the class becomes silent whenever you're having the one on one session with him?"

The usually stubborn and stiff Lysithea grew red as she comprehended what this actually means. There were other things she said that were embarrassing, and she hoped to the Goddesses above that they didn't hear her.  
She brought both hands to the second half of her uniform and gripped it. Please please please-

It wasn't meant to be.

Hilda saw the opportunity to embarrass the girl even further. You don't get a chance like this every day!

"Oh, and aren't you quite the closet pervert. I mean the other day, you were like, 'I don't mind the headpats if it's you, sensei...' Like, geez! You're surprisingly aggressive!"

"S-SHUT UP! I only let him because-!"

A collective and angry "Shhhh" came from the people around them, causing them to apologize quietly simultaneously.

"So? Why do you let him?" Hilda whispered.

"He..."

Lysithea bit her lip. She didn't feel ready about openly telling this to other people.

"He?"

"N-Nothing, look, I'm leaving now. I need to practice this spell before the mock battle, and I'm not going to let your teasing become a thorn at my side." Lysithea quickly stood up, leaving the book on the table and exiting the library.

"_Aww... just as it was going to get good. Oh well_."

She looked at the book in front of her, grimacing at the large width, indicating a lot of content. She shook her head as she braced herself.

"_I'm going to have to do this if I want a chance at making him fall for me."_

Some of the students who dropped by the library came across the rare sight of Hilda diligently reading a book, seemingly focused on whatever part she was on.

_**~Few hours later.**_

_**At the training grounds...**_

Lysithea furrowed her eyebrows at the training dummy. She only had enough energy to use one more spell before it was dangerous to use.

She began preparing a potentially destructive Luna spell. The rune sequences looked to be in order and her timing felt right, so she activated it. Just as she launched it, the spell fizzled, causing her groan in disappointment. She stomped on the ground with a foot.

"Why!? Why can't I get this right!?" She yelled.

She sat herself on the dirt of the training grounds, hugging her knees up to her chest.

"If I keep hitting these roadblocks, I'll never be able to become stronger..."

Lysithea let out an irritated sigh as she looked up at the seemingly mocking moonlight.

"_What should I do, sensei?"_

As she was admiring the glow, she let her mind wander off to earlier today, where she argued with Hilda. The part about letting him pat her head causing her to frown in embarrassment.

"Why did you have to make that be the favor?"

_Byleth and Lysithea were sitting down at one of the benches in front of the classes at the dead of the night. Lysithea had told Byleth to come meet her here when no one was around, saying that she had something to confess to him. She felt that she needed to tell him now before it was too late._

_Byleth kept a look of confusion and concern on Lysithea, who was looking down at the ground in misery. She began speaking._

"_Sensei... I... I don't have much time left." She said tearfully, Byleth's eyes widening at the confession._

_"These double crests... are the banes of my existence. Those experiments they did on me all those years ago... They... They lowered my lifespan." _

_She expressed sheer sadness, but still didn't let any of the sobbing overtake her voice as she continued._

_"Every time when someone praises me for my magic, they usually call it a talent or admire my crests, never mentioning the work I put in. It's a reminder that I'm just a result of whatever those people did to me. But, when you praised my persistence and work ethic sensei, I... I felt happy. Like my hard work wasn't just a fluke." A smile forming on her face, still holding sadness, as she wiped off some of the tears. _

_"Your praise isn't just forced... It's truthful, like you mean it. You spend so much time trying to improve yourself while helping the other students with all your heart, and I admire it, a lot."_

_She blushed slightly at what she was saying to him._

_"It was at that point, I realized... that maybe I can do something in this world. That I'll be able to make sure that the future generation won't be subjected to the horrors that me and the other kids had to go through."_

_Emotion was now starting to overwhelm her as she let out a shaky breath._

_"Sensei, even if we've only known each other for a small amount of time, you've become important to me. You always took time out of your day to show me magic or teach me something despite your busy schedule. You've made understand that this life... it's worth living to the end. I want to live, sensei, I... I don't want to die!"_

_She began openly sobbing into her hands, unashamed of the amount of emotion she was showing to her sensei. She couldn't hold it in. All these years of survivor's guilt and torment... even someone like her was bound to break eventually._

_"Lysithea." Byleth started. He put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him._

_"I'll definitely find a way to undo what they have done to you. I can't let you die like this."_

_She saw no trace of pity on his face, instead, it lingered with sheer determination and resolve. Tears still crawling down her face, she can't help but be mesmerized by the intensity of the gaze._

_"You've become important to me too, Lysithea, I want you to live. And I'll make sure of it."_

_Byleth smiled softly._

_"Sensei..." Her sadness beginning to diminish, as it was replaced with happiness at his words. It seemed like anything was possible if her sensei was involved._

_"Heh... I knew you'd say something like that." She chuckled, eyes still glistening with tears but slowing down. _

_"R-Really? Sorry, I don't mean to be predictable."_

_"I'm just joking, sensei."_

_Wiping off the remaining tears, she placed a hand on Byleth's, which was still on her shoulder._

_"You're wrong about one thing, sensei..."_

_"Huh?"_

_"You're not the only one in this. We'll find a way, together."_

Oh goddess.

Remembering it now, that ENTIRE conversation was just embarrassing.

Lysithea put her face on her knees as her blush darkened, recalling one more thing.

_"Sensei, is there anything you want from me? I'll do anything, it's the least I can do for you."_

_"Lysithea... just seeing you happy is enough for me."_

_She blushed._

_"H-Huh? No! That's not a valid answer, you womanizer!" _

_Sothis laughed at Lysithea's choice of words. _

_"If you don't tell me what you want, then I won't allow you to find a cure for me."_

_Byleth panicked as he thought of something._

_"T-Then... Will you allow me to pat your head?"_

_"..!?" A shocked expression appeared on Lysithea's face. She huffed, maybe she shouldn't have said anything, that was so childish! Perhaps her sensei was treating her like a kid?_

_Nah. He wouldn't do that, but what was the reason for this?_

_"...Fine. But why?"_

_"I-It just seems like a good way to follow up my praise..."_

_Lysithea's face turned blank._

_"Are you making fun of me?"_

_"N-not at all! Sometimes, you seem quite tense during lessons, so I thought that would help ease you up a bit..."_

_..._

_"You're weird, sensei."_

_"O-Oh."_

_Lysithea let out an unwomanly snort at her sensei's disheartened expression._

_"I'm just joking. Like I said, fine, but don't do it too often, alright? But... thank you sensei, really, for everything."_

Lysithea had her first headpat the following day, the one Hilda referenced. It was actually... quite nice, despite her initial protests.

Looking at the sky, it had become quite late. Lysithea figured it was time to retire to her dorm.  
Just as she was about to leave, the sound of footsteps came from the training ground's entrance, causing her to become alert.

"Who's there?" She said.

"L-Lysithea?"

She looked towards the entrance and there stood the man whom she was just thinking about. He was carrying a portable lamp, with a notebook sticking out between his chest and arm.

"Sensei? What are you doing out this late?"

"A-Ah, I was looking for you, but you weren't at your dorm... I have something to show you."

Placing down the lamp, he took the medium sized notebook out of his armpit, and walked towards her. He handed it over with the front cover being on top.

"This is..?"

"I-It's about your crests... I've written down some potential ways to take out your crests without killing you in the process. I-I worked with Hanneman-sensei, seeing how he's very interested in crests himself. We couldn't find a guaranteed solution, but I think this may be a good start. Oh, d-don't worry! I didn't tell him about your situation, you trusted me with that after all..."

Lysithea looked through the notebook and was left utterly astonished. They only talked about this just a few days ago, and it was filled to the brim. It wasn't exactly a rest week, either, everyone was preparing for the mock battle, and Byleth had to juggle teaching and cooking.

"Sensei, how did you find the time to do this?"

"D-During my breaks. Hanneman-sensei's break aligned with mine and I thought it'd be a good opportunity, so... I took it. Like I said before, Lysithea, I won't let you die, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure of that. Even if I have other responsibilities, yours will take priority. I'll spend everyday of my life with you finding a cure, if it meant saving yours."

Lysithea threatened to let out tears again, of happiness this time. All this... for her?

If crushing on your sensei was a kid's thing, then she might as well embrace being a kid for now.

A small smile formed at the realization.

"_You win this time, Hilda."_

"Sensei, won't you sit down and watch the stars with me? It's quite beautiful tonight."

"O-Of course..!" A little surprised at the sudden invitation, but he agreed nonetheless.

As they sat down, they unconsciously scooted right next to each other, shoulders almost touching.

"Wow... i-it really is beautiful..." Byleth watched as the moon shined brighter than it ever did during the month. The starlight and the moonlight mingled perfectly together, showing them quite the light show.

Lysithea would say the same thing if she was paying attention, but she just couldn't.

The one thing that outshined the moonlit sky was the person right next to her.

Her eyes watched Byleth lovingly as his face grew with excitement and genuine elation.

"Thank you, sensei..." She whispered.

The very next day, Lysithea mastered the Luna spell under Byleth's supervision.

**Thanks for reading! I hope to have the next chapter out in two days. Remember, if I'm gone for more than a week, I'm probably at Japan, but I'll find a way to write there. Until next time!**


	11. Update: I'm back!

**Hello everyone! It's been a while. I apologize for my prolonged absence and for being silent the entire time during this hiatus. Just know that I am back now and will be updating the story again. Rest assured that I am alright and not in the middle of anything bad, sorry to worry you!**

**I have a good outline of Ch. 11 setup, and will work on it starting as soon as this notice is out.**  
**Marianne and Edelgard are the main girls of this chapter, with some appearances new and old. The latest at which Ch. 11 will come out will be next weekend (work). Chapter 12 will be the transition into the Black Eagles part of the story, so BE fans can look forward to that. **

**Again, I am very sorry for my silence. Waiting for an update without any foresight of when it is coming out never feels good, so I hope to ease your worries with this. **

**Thank you for supporting this fic!**

**UPDATE: Chapter will be up on Christmas! (or around)**


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